Making Watts safer

An early-evening chill Thursday didn't stop dozens of children from playing and adults from strolling about the long-troubled and gang-infested Jordan Downs housing project. Beth Barrett in the Daily News.

The neighborly scene was a sharp contrast to just two years ago when - even on balmy summer nights - the area was a virtual ghost town except for armed Grape Street Crips gang members, lined up sometimes 30 deep on street corners, hawking drugs.

"They were out of control in here, selling dope and drinking," South Bureau gang officer Dario Machado said. "About two years ago, we started hitting them hard on injunction violations. It went from gangsters all over the place to kids running around and playing ... normal kids playing soccer or riding their bikes."