North Central

Thirteen of the twenty one murders that have occurred in Pasadena in the last four years have happened in this neighborhood. In at least three quarters of these cases, the killings were gang-related. All but two of these killings were due to gunshots. In most cases the shootings occurred at night when individuals were parked or hanging outside. The victims were all either black or Hispanic, and two-thirds were under 25 years of age—one was a girl, aged sixteen, who seems to have been caught in the crossfire. Two of the killings were because police officers shot gang members they claimed pulled weapons on them and two other murders were stabbings due to romantic complications.

Put simply this is just a dangerous neighborhood where on any given night you are likely to here police helicopters overhead and have streets blocked off for police actions during the day.

There is also a great deal of variation in incomes and rents from block to block. Many of the California Bungalow style homes that characterize Pasadena are in this neighborhood. Many individual blocks are absolutely charming, with unusual architectural combinations, palm fronted yards and leafy sidewalks. It is like a picture of Pasadena in the post World War II era. Over a third of the homes in the area date to before WWII, so this is about as close as you get to a neighborhood representing that period.

Unfortunately, the problems are such that it makes it difficult to raise a family in this neighborhood. The gang activities and social problems extend to the local high school, John Muir High, which has the lowest API score possible (indicating very poor test scores) and from the two or three kids that I have come across that actually attended the school, the environment is bad indeed: demoralized teachers, scared students, bewildered parents.

Put simply, North Central is not the Pasadena neighborhood where you want to live—much less drive through after dark.