Feeling forgotten: Meadows Village residents think downtown getting all of the attention now

Diana Sahagun

Friday, July 27, 2001 | 4:56 a.m.

Residents of an older Las Vegas community near the Stratosphere hotel-casino say they are still struggling to survive, even after four years of stepped-up attention from the city and Metro Police.

For a decade before Metro in 1997 swept through the community in "Operation Wham Tam," the residents were victims every day of the widespread and growing drug trafficking that brought crime and gunfire.

Meadows Village, which includes Tam Drive and which in past decades was called Naked City by residents, boiled over in 1997 and Metro Police moved in, vowing to rid the area of prostitutes, drug dealers, and other criminals.

The area got a new name out of the attention and some rehabilitation programs, but the old fears remain.

On a recent afternoon, resident Patricia Mohammed nervously took one step outside her Monterey Villas apartment complex. After seeing a Metro Police car, her landlord and two security officers, the woman in her 20s felt secure enough to emerge a little further.

It was a rare appearance for Mohammed, who stays holed up in her apartment so as not to cross paths with the drug dealers she says brazenly walk the streets. Rather than walk across the street to a 7-Eleven for a quart of milk, Mohammed waits until her husband gets home to get groceries.

Mohammed, other concerned tenants and property owners are pleading with the city to step up its attention, which they say has gradually dwindled since the big push four years ago.

Gabriele Norena, who manages Monterey Villas, says Mohammed isn't the only tenant too scared to go outside.

"I have a lot of very disturbed residents," Norena said."They just want to come out of their homes and go to the 7-Eleven, but they can't leave because there are people dealing drugs out on the street."

David Weekly, a nearby property owner, said there are still four crack houses in the community that he knows about and that when peace is achieved, it's fragile.

"At one time, (peace) lasted maybe two to three months, and then boom, it went to hell again," he said. "It's terrible here and they've got good people living down here."

While Norena hires security for her apartment complex 24 hours a day, she said all the area landlords need to join together to eradicate the criminals.

While city leaders have made strides in attacking problems in Meadows Village, they admit there is still a long way to go.

According to Metro, calls to police by Meadows Village residents have increased in the last two months. And there are fewer cops patrolling the neighborhood than a year ago.

At the height of the violence, from 1997 to 1999, Metro assigned seven officers to patrol Meadows Village 24 hours a day.

Now, because of staffing issues, only three officers are assigned to Meadows Village each day.

But the neighborhood is far different from 1997, when there were five murders and 14 shootings within one six-month period.

Although Metro Officer Rick Nogues, who has overseen police activities in Meadows Village for three years, did not have the total number of shootings in the area for this year, he said violent crimes -- including murders -- are down 75 percent.

In May 1996 there were approximately 650 calls to police from Meadows Village residents. In May there were 140 calls, he said.

The main force behind the change was "Operation Wham Tam," an effort prompted by former Las Vegas Mayor Jan Jones that included 100 officers and city code enforcement officials. Over a four-year period, abandoned properties were demolished, hundreds of volunteers hauled away more than 80 tons of trash and police held monthly meetings with residents.

Residents worry, however, about the city's long-term commitment. They are concerned that with the city's recent emphasis on cleaning up street crimes downtown, their community of nearly 4,000 people -- in an area of approximately 2 square miles that has 40 apartment complexes -- will be neglected.

Nogues said residents should not be concerned about police turning their attention way from Meadows Village. Although there is an emphasis on targeting crime downtown, Nogues said there are officers assigned to patrol Meadows Village each day. The officers assigned to the area, though, are often called to respond to other calls in the area, he added.

"I have made it clear that we need to maintain this area by at least keeping officers assigned down here because if we don't it's going to go right back to what it was," Nogues said.

While the residents point their fingers at Metro and the city for the continuing high incidence of crime, Nogues points back. The city and Metro held monthly community meetings in 1997, which were standing-room only. But lately the number of residents attending has tapered off to fewer than a handful.

"The community doesn't want to stand up and fight," Nogues said. "They want us to baby-sit them, but we can't do that."

As well as needing more manpower, Nogues said the officers need more community input, more residents willing to come forward with information about drug trafficking and prostitution.

Nogues said police have a "zero tolerance" attitude toward drug activity, but as offenders are arrested and sent to jail, they are released and come right back.

That's why Las Vegas Councilman Gary Reese -- whose ward includes Meadows Village -- met this month with judges to encourage them to impose stiffer penalties so offenders do not make their way back to the community. Reese said the "order-out corridor," which was expanded to the Meadows Village area last year, isn't tough enough.

The city's "order-out" ordinance allows people convicted of certain prostitute and drug-related offenses to have their sentences suspended by agreeing to stay away for one year. If the offenders are caught in the order-out zone, they are automatically sent to jail.

"If you find a chronic drug dealer or prostitute, rather than say move them over here, put them in jail," Reese said. "We need to put them in jail, rather than slapping them on the hand."

Reese walked the neighborhood last week, pointing out that the area has changed dramatically from five years ago. Reese said although there are still problems, he is by no means giving up on the community.

"I've always been very positive that I'm going to be part of the solution," Reese said. "I don't want people living in fear."

Tucked into a corner on Boston Avenue between Tam and Fairfield Avenue, the Chester Stupack children's park has benefited from the city's refurbishing efforts. Reese said five years ago, families wouldn't dare allow their children to play at the park. But because of Metro's constant monitoring, families now feel safe when taking their children to play on the new equipment, he said.

The city also remodeled the Stupack Community Center, carved out of several small buildings, across the street from the park. The center is cramped, but children have a game room and day-care center, and can check books out of a small library. The center also offers computer and English as a Second Language classes.

"Can we build a new community center here? I say yes," Reese said. "It may not be tomorrow, but it will be built. I know that there is a need."

When residents complained about taxicabs parking on their streets, the city responded by putting up two-hour maximum parking signs. To discourage cars from racing through Tam as a shortcut to Sahara Avenue or Industrial Road, speed bumps were installed.

The city's Weed and Seed program has also been successful by encouraging residents to get involved in their neighborhood.

The program weeds out undesired elements within a community and then starts seeding it with positive aspects, said Franklin Simpson, who works for the city's Neighborhood Services Department as a liaison for the community.

In the next month, Weed and Seed staff will canvass the neighborhood with information about various city departments and organizations that residents can turn to for help.

Simpson said the key to making the program successful is for residents to take pride in their community by getting involved in cleanups and other activities.

Earl White, chairman of the Weed and Seed steering committee, said the city and police can only do so much.

"Residents have to take the initiative and say, 'I care about this community and I want to be involved.' Unfortunately, you need to come out from behind the fence and say, 'What can I do to make my community a better place,' " he said.

Meanwhile, Metro will continue sweeping through the neighborhoods, meeting with neighbors like Mohammed to ease their concerns.

"Its frustrating in a lot of ways but I've seen a big turn-around there," Nogues said. "Every time I see people they wave, they know me. I have kids I throw a football around with. "There's a lot of possibilities down there."

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