The Carthage stairway before the trimming.
There are issues with the kids that hang out on the Carthage stairs.
A resident wrote: “The number of kids and the audacity of their behavior ebbs and flows, but in keeping with your ‘rude kids on the bus’ story, I just want to make you aware of how awful the kids hanging out on the stairs have been lately.”
There are two sets of public steps between Haverford Avenue and Via de la Paz. The first is in the alley by the Methodist Church. The second is off Carthage Street.
The resident wrote that the teens hanging out in the Carthage stairwell are more frequent, ruder and more brash.
“In addition to the usual smoking, spray painting, and hanging out, we have seen them steal a carton containing paper towels from a neighbor; then unroll and leave the paper towels on the stairs.
“We have found an entire half gallon of paint spilled down the stairs and left in puddles. We heard them talk about a friend having a gun,” the resident said. “And this week, we came upon a couple having sex on the stairs.”
When neighbors ask the teens to move on, the neighbors are ignored. “Many are extremely rude and sometimes, quite threatening,” CTN was told.
Palisades Senior Lead Officer Brian Espin has been contacted, but with the lack of officers at LAPD, he can only promise occasional patrols.
The resident said that they used to pull out a phone and say to the teens, “I’m calling the police, you should be gone before they get here,” and that the kids would leave. Now, there’s no reaction from the kids, “they are belligerent, and I often feel they are threatening.”
A group of neighbors, Peter and Megan Sheridan Nate Clark, Allen Loeb, Fay and Bruce Kagen and Sari and Matt Ross, who live near the stairs, met on June 1 to cut back all the hedges and clean up the ivy so that the entire staircase is more open and visible.
It took three and a half hours and between 15-20 garbage bins were filled. Additionally, the group filled five extra large trash bags and even had some overflow.
The result is the stairwell is more visible from the top and the bottom.
The residents asked if any readers have suggestions about what to do about this stairwell that has ongoing issues such as vandalism, drinking, drugs and sex. Email: editor@circlingthenews.com.
The stairwell after seven neighbors spent nearly four hours trimming and cleaning.
Perhaps a camera that is visible but not accessible to the kids. Something they could see but doesn’t necessarily have to be functional.
The neighbors did a great job opening up the stairway. Let’s all hope that does help.
Hello CTN:
What a disappointing response from law enforcement- and why aren’t those kids in School? Pali High needs to step it up. My husband immediately responded
“Get a hose and hose them down!”
What about a good barking watch dog?
close it
Regarding the kids having sex, I would pull out my phone, film them and post it on a website such as Pornhub. Word would get around the schoolyard and that type of behavior would cease. I’m serious
As “park adjacent” residents who have dealt with escalating teenage crime (and a lack of LAPD response) for several years, I would recommend they post cameras and try to film as many of these incidences as possible and post them on Next Door. Shining a bright light on these crimes and the individuals committing them are the only way to get anyone to take notice. Until you post videos, no one believes it’s really happening or understands the severity of the problem.