Blythe Street Slum Residents Relocated

After years of enduring some of the Valley’s worst slum conditions, about 100 residents of a rundown Blythe Street apartment complex have been temporarily relocated in the first phase of a city-led effort to refurbish the buildings, officials said.

A prolonged dispute over ownership of the apartments had left residents on their own to contend with a host of health and safety problems, such as broken doors and windows, faulty electricity and plumbing, leaky roofs and massive infestations of cockroaches and other vermin.

In August, The Times reported that the Los Angeles City Council had approved a $3.1-million loan to Hermandad Mexicana Nacional to overhaul the complex.

The move was seen as an important sign of renewal on Blythe Street, where drug dealing and violence led the Los Angeles city attorney in 1993 to obtain a civil injunction against gangs in the area.

“I absolutely believe that this site was the largest problem on Blythe Street,” said Councilman Richard Alarcon. “The rehabilitation of these buildings is going to make a big difference, not just for the residents, but for everyone on Blythe Street.”

Although the loan was approved in August, it took until early December to relocate all of the tenants into other nearby apartments, said Angelina Casillas, project director for Hermandad, a 50-year-old agency that provides a wide range of social services such as English instruction and citizenship classes.

Some residents initially complained that Hermandad was not being clear about its plans for the complex and were unsure if they would be permitted to move back in once the repairs were complete.

Casillas, however, said those questions had been answered.

“We plan to offer an apartment to everyone that was there. We are committed to that,” she said.

Construction is set to begin in February. One of the four current buildings will be torn down to provide space for a playground and community room, and the others will be refurbished with fewer but larger apartments.

Casillas said residents should be able to move back in next December.

“This used to be one of the worst buildings on Blythe Street. Now it’s going to be one of the best,” she said.