USC AREA : Neighbors Try to Sweep Away Crime

Tired of the city’s tarnished image, Patsy Carter had been waging a small battle against crime in her neighborhood with mixed success.

Now Carter is taking her fight to the streets along with members of the Doheny Neighbors, a small group of residents and business owners who are using rakes, brooms and shovels to combat crime.

“What people in Los Angeles don’t realize is there is a correlation between clean streets and safety,” said Carter, a member of the 23rd Street Neighbors Assn. “This is a statement to the people that we care. It’s intended to say to absentee landlords, ‘Don’t think you can just take money out of the area.’ This isn’t just an effete matter, it can be a matter of life or death.”

The group, made up of 11 organizations including Mount St. Mary’s College, the Automobile Club of Southern California, other businesses, churches, residents groups and schools, united last fall.

“We were concerned about security at the college,” said Maria Lyons, director of student activities at Mount St. Mary’s. Lyons contacted Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas’ office for help in getting no-loitering signs posted at the school’s main entrance on Adams Boulevard. “They told me I had to contact the auto club and Lanterman School and get their approval. Well, I got their approval in a matter of seconds.”

The experience left Lyons and representatives from the auto club and Lanterman thinking about how else they might work together.

“Individually, we couldn’t have done a lot,” said Sister Kathleen Kelly of Mount St. Mary’s. “But collectively, we’ve come together and as a coalition you can really impact an area.”

The group has committed itself to biannual neighborhood clean-ups, the first scheduled for this past Saturday. But the group said its efforts are meant to go beyond simply sweeping the streets.

“This is the first step of rebuilding,” said Carter. “You hear all this talk about how we’re going to rebuild neighborhoods, but this is the most basic step.”

Education and information are priorities the group hopes to share with residents.

“We’ve gotten numbers for a lot of services the city offers that we didn’t even know existed,” said Kelly. “Trash and the dumping of sofas and rubbish are a problem in this area, and now we have a number we can call.”

The group has secured financial assistance from Ridley-Thomas, merchants and groups such as the auto club. Thomas’ office provided $1,000 for the first clean-up and the city provided brooms, shovels and paint.

“It’s like we were all searching for something, for a way to pitch in,” said Herman Fuette, manager of security at the auto club. “And this sends a message to people outside the community that says we care.”

Information: (213) 746-0450.