CRIME RETURNING TO NORTHWOOD, RESIDENTS SAY

West Palm Beach -- Residents of the Northwood neighborhoods enjoy the
quaint and unassuming feel of their communities. Some, however, say
that what was once an up-and-coming area has slid back into blight and
is riddled with crime.

"When I came here 30 years ago Pinewood Avenue was beautiful,"
resident Pearl El said. "Now it feels to me like I'm in a hole."

Residents want accountability. And Saturday they demanded it from city
officials.

"I'm interested in collaboration," said El, one of more than 50
residents who gathered Saturday at the United Methodist Church of
Northwood. At the meeting, top city officials, including Mayor Lois
Frankel, listened to residents plead for better policing and stricter
code enforcement. Members and residents of the Northend Coalition of
Neighborhoods meet often to address community issues. But the chance
to push for answers from police, sanitation and code enforcement
officials only comes once a year.

"It puts them on the spot," said coalition founder Claudia
Deprez.

In 2001, when Deprez started the group, the city dumped manpower and
resources into the neighborhood to clean it up. Homes were improved
and remodeled, a new batch of homeowners drove the values up and
police presence kept drug dealers and troublemakers at bay.

"It was a well-oiled wheel," she said. "Unfortunately, in the last two
years the focus has been on the downtown area and on neglecting the
neighborhoods."

Prostitutes are back on street corners and alleys, drug dealers roam
the neighborhood and break-ins and robberies are common, coalition
president Terry Knight said.

Assistant Police Chief Will Perez noted recent department
accomplishments, including the closure of at least six houses of
prostitution and the opening of a community center. He also showcased
the department's Hispanic-outreach program geared to the increasing
number of Guatemalans and Mexicans in the area.

"They don't realize the customs of the U.S.," he said. "We have to
teach them the American way."

The newly arrived Hispanics don't know not to urinate or drink in
public, Perez said. They're also easily victimized because many don't
know the language and carry large amounts of cash with them.

Residents were more concerned about seeing their stolen property in
nearby pawnshops, having to deal with neighbors who host all-night
parties and overgrown yards covered in trash.

Frankel, however, said it is not that bad. She answered questions from
residents wanting to know about code enforcement and vowed to take up
a new approach to crime, but stressed that the neighborhood still is
better off than some say.

"The area is much improved and property values have gone up," she
said. "It is still an area that has issues."

Deprez, however, said she'd like to see more efforts from the city. If
the coalition takes tougher measures, its options could include
recalling the mayor and city commissioners, suing the city or annexing
out if the city doesn't provide the services.

"We have the tax revenue to do it," she said. "It would not be our
first choice, but it is a choice."