Westside : Neighborhood Watch Kickoff Party Planned

People who live in the 1700 block of Genesee Avenue near the Fairfax district are tired.

They’re tired of their cars being stolen and vandalized. They’re tired of their homes being burglarized. And they’re tired of the fear they’ve lived with since an armed robber held up one of their neighbors this summer.

Today is the kickoff street party for the Genesee neighborhood’s community watch program. The festivities will give neighbors a chance to meet--many of them for the first time--and perhaps share horror stories about local crime.

The block will be closed to cars, and neighbors plan to set up a potluck buffet in the middle of the street. The kickoff event marks the formation of the first Neighborhood Watch group on the block in 30 years, residents say.

“We want to take back our neighborhood,” said Greffon Mullins, who has lived on Genesee for three years in one of the 24 houses along the block.

Starting in November, the group plans to meet monthly. First, residents will figure out the logistics of safeguarding each other’s property, and later they will plan neighborhood events, Mullins said.