Neighbors Demand, Win Speed Bumps After 2 Slayings

Sometimes, in difficult neighborhoods like Los Angeles’ Boyle Heights, it is the small victories that are most significant.

Such was the case Friday night, when residents of Boyle Heights learned that their requests for speed bumps, intensified after a drive-by shooting killed a 10-year-old and a 19-year-old, had been granted.

“We are moved by the strength of the Boyle Heights community,” Manuel Valencia, a spokesman for Mayor Richard Riordan, told a gathering of about 100 people who live near the Pico Aliso housing project. “You have made your voices heard, and they rang out loud and clear. The city will install speed bumps by Friday, Oct. 20.”

The neighborhood was galvanized by last Sunday’s drive-by shooting of Raymond Hernandez, 19, the killer’s apparent target, and Stephanie Raygoza, 10, who was hit by stray bullets. The killer remains at large.

Residents angrily called for the city to put in speed bumps in violent areas such as the 100 block of South Clarence Street, where the shooting happened, in hopes of deterring drive-bys by slowing down getaway cars.