Pico Union District

Mayor Richard Riordan, adopting one of his more aggressive tacks against street violence, has called for a court injunction as part of a major crackdown on 18th Street gang members in Los Angeles' most crime-ridden area. Citing the gang's involvement in shakedowns, drug dealing, robberies and vandalism in the Pico-Union area, the mayor, who has made public safety the centerpiece of his reelection campaign, urged City Atty. James K.

A popular athletic field in the Pico-Union neighborhood near downtown reopened last week. Located at 1532 W. 11th Street, the athletic field of the Salvation Army's Red Shield Youth and Community Center now has lush new grass, said Irene De Anda Lewis, executive director of the center. The center's soccer, flag football, softball and field hockey teams, which had been playing in the gymnasium since October last year when the field closed for renovations, will now move outdoors.

While the Police Commission was announcing its three finalists for L.A.'s top cop, Mayor Richard Riordan was just where he should have been, in the neighborhoods of his city. I caught up with him in a place that, outwardly, had nothing to do with a new chief. All the TV vans and most of the reporters were a few miles to the east, at police headquarters in Parker Center, where the commissioners were holding a press conference.

Amendments that could improve housing stock and encourage economic development are being considered for the Pico-Union 2 Redevelopment Plan, which outlines strategies for the area east of Hoover Street. A committee of local residents and property owners is asking the Community Redevelopment Agency to spend more property tax revenues on new and refurbished housing and for rebuilding the area's riot-damaged commercial zones.

The Pico-Union disaster application center opens today with a bilingual staff able to help English- and Spanish-speaking applicants apply for federal and state aid. The center is at Toberman Recreation Center, 1725 Toberman St., Los Angeles.

The draft of a five-year implementation plan will be considered for two redevelopment zones at a public hearing Monday by the city Community Redevelopment Agency. The 6 p.m. hearing in the auditorium of 10th Street Elementary School, 1000 Grattan Ave. at the corner of Olympic Boulevard, will solicit public comment on proposals for the area, project manager Maxine Chavez said.

For a year and a half, Times staff photographer Kaul has been documenting life in Pico-Union, a neighborhood of Latin-American immigrants just west of downtown. This is the third in her series of photo essays.

It's fairly simple: Supermarkets would be better than vacant lots any day. In the Pico-Union area, where residents still see an abundance of vacant lots left from the 1992 riots, a supermarket or grocery store is the most needed retail service, according to a recent survey. Residents in the survey traveled an average of 3 1/2 miles to buy groceries. About half are without cars so they must walk, depend on someone else for a ride or use public transportation.

Since Jesus arrived here in April, the days all seem to begin and end the same way: He wakes up hopeful. He goes to bed weary and frustrated. Jesus, 21, came to the United States from Sonora, Mexico. After two years in Arizona he was drawn to Los Angeles by rumors that work was plentiful. The rumors proved false. Every day, he tries to find a job. He walks the streets, his belongings nestled in a trash bag slung over his shoulder. He is a careful walker, often looking at the ground.