Arroyo Viejo

Arroyo Viejo means “old creek” in Spanish. There is, in fact, a creek here, but most people would just consider it to be more of “a wash” as we called it when I was growing up. It is one of those asphalt deals that carries the water through the neighborhood. Like much of the rest of the Fruitvale District, crime is an issue here. Between 2007 and 2009, seven murders occurred at the edge of the neighborhood along the main drags. With only about 5,000 residents here this neighborhood is dangerous enough neighborhood that I can’t recommend it.

That said, let me tell you somewhat more about Arroyo Viejo. To begin, this is a fairly poor area, with the average household making less the $40K per year. The homes in Arroyo Viejo are mostly old, dating to before 1950 and being of the tiny California bungalow variety. There are also some very ugly boxy apartment buildings here, some of which almost look abandoned because the first floor windows are all boarded up. I’m not sure why this is the case, but it does make the whole place feel more like a war zone than a street here in the US.

The local school is Webster Academy and it reflects the problems in the community as a whole. Nine of 10 students here are on reduced lunch program because they are of limited means. Overall, the school is ranked 200 points below the state average and students test in the bottom 10th percentile across the board on everything from English to Math. Half the students here are considered ESL—which partly explains the low English scores. The majority of students’ parents at Webster did not finish high school and only 1 in 20 finished college.

As in a lot of the neighborhoods around here, one of the industries that does seem to be going strong here is the religious industry. This neighborhood has at least three churches that I know of and all of them seem to have active congregations.

Put simply, this is a typical intercity neighborhood with little going for it.