Neighbors to March Against Drugs at Park

A new community group of parents from the North Hills/Panorama City area plans a march Sunday at the Sepulveda Recreation Center to protest the presence of drug dealers who they say are driving families out of the park.

The North Hills Residents Coalition is “a network of mothers who are saying we are not going to let this go on in our community,” said Paula Rangel, one of the event organizers.

“Sepulveda Recreation Center is a major drug dealing and gangster park and we want to do something about it,” Rangel said. “We’ll be damned if we are going to give up the park.”

Sepulveda Recreation Center is at the corner of Parthenia Street and Kester Avenue in Panorama City along the border with North Hills.

Cindy Mascarenas, a recreation director at Sepulveda, said she had not heard of the community group, nor its plans for a march, but that she supported their efforts.

“It’s always positive when the community gets involved,” Mascarenas said. “The LAPD has been doing a tremendous job around here of cleaning things up, but yes, there is still a problem.”

Rangel, who has lived in the neighborhood for five years, said that by marching around the park’s perimeter, including areas frequented by gang members, the coalition will serve notice to the dealers that residents will not be intimidated.

“The park does not belong to them, it belongs to us, the families in the neighborhood,” she said. “If we have to be out there every week, we will.”

In addition to the march, Rangel said, the coalition is planning a picnic and a soccer tournament for children on Sunday.

For information about the march or the North Hills Residents Coalition, call (818) 892-0565.