Volunteer Patrols

Re “Volunteers to Crack Down on Building Code Violators,” Aug. 8.

It is heartening to see that Mayor [Richard] Riordan has noticed the turnaround effected by New York Mayor [Rudolph W.] Giuliani’s campaign against affronts to “quality of life.” I guess I would be considered one of those “busybodies, who have time on their hands, who are concerned about such things,” characterized by Doug Mirell of the ACLU. But I would be willing to bet that even he is not willing to tolerate in his neighborhood dumpsters storing garbage in a next-door neighbor’s yard along with five to six cars on the front lawn, derelict cars on the street for weeks, rotting couches along the sidewalk, abandoned bags of garbage, graffiti and the ubiquitous garage-sale signs touting some long-ago event.

There is no benefit to the city or its citizens when a neighborhood deteriorates because urban blight is left unchecked.

As the pressures of crowded city living mount, there has to be an equitable way for us “busybodies” who thrive on clean streets and tidy yards to coexist with those who seem unaware that their lifestyle creates urban blight. It is not clear to me why Mirell thinks that those who create such blight have more of a right to do so than I have to help eradicate it. I have invested in this city by owning and maintaining my property and I am making the time (since time on my hands is one thing I definitely don’t have) to say that I would welcome an enforceable program that preserves the quality of life to which I originally subscribed . . . and I’ll vote for the person who makes it happen.

KAY A. TORNBORG

Los Angeles