‘A full-on neighborhood emergency’

Good morning, it’s Tuesday, March 24 and it will be oppressively bright out by the afternoon, with a high of 87 in the city and 91 in the Valley.

In today’s edition we have an excerpt from an L.A. Material exclusive revealing how a city crackdown on sex trafficking in South L.A. helped redirect the problem into affluent Hancock Park-adjacent enclaves, a look at Bill Cosby’s latest legal tribulations and the rest of the L.A. news you need to start your day.

Larchmont and Windsor Square are among L.A.’s most idyllic neighborhoods — quaint and walkable, where the tree-lined streets have Craftsman homes that can cost upwards of $5 million.

But residents in this exclusive enclave between Hancock Park and Koreatown say they are increasingly exasperated by a robust nightly sex trade that has grown more intense in recent months — and more disturbing — due, in part, to actions of Los Angeles City officials. 

Some residents recount being awoken by the sound of sex outside their home. Others say they have witnessed fights between sex workers and their customers, or johns. 

The signs of it are everywhere across the landscape of well manicured lawns and hedges: Used condoms. Clumped up tissues. The shiny torn foil of Trojan wrappers scattered about the curbs. 

“The amount of biohazard debris is disgusting,” said Sam Uretsky of Larchmont, who described the situation to L.A. Material as “a full-on neighborhood emergency.”