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Fifteen years ago, Hollywood's Yucca Corridor was a magnet for drug dealers, prostitutes and gangs. Now, the former
"crack alley" area around Yucca Street is turning into a hip urban district for young executives and aspiring talents.
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Beginnings
Before the 1990s, the Yucca Corridor was notorious for its gang- related shootings and criminal activity. Neighborhood Watch groups named after streets in the area, such as the Ivar Hawks, the Cherokee Condors and the Wilcox Werewolves, installed surveillance cameras on street corners and urged local law enforcement to patrol the neighborhood more often.
And then came the 1994 Northridge earthquake, which damaged and emptied many of the Yucca Corridor's most crime-infested buildings and gave the city an opportunity to redevelop the area into a safer, tourist-friendly place.
The Yucca Corridor's strides toward economic development became apparent when property owners started renovating apartment buildings and shopping centers.
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The Yucca Corridor has become a hub for young professionals, artists, musicians and actors, said Merle Singer and Jeffrey Rouze of the Yucca Corridor Coalition of Property Owners and Managers, a community-based organization dedicated to improving the central Hollywood area.
MTA buses, Metro Red Line stations...