Crosstown LA

We are a non-profit news outlet that focuses on the diverse neighborhoods of Los Angeles by using data to tell our stories. Los Angeles is a city of many layers, and we believe it’s important to explore each neighborhood's unique narrative. By gathering data on significant topics like crime rates, traffic patterns, and air quality, we aim to highlight the different experiences of residents. For instance, while some areas may be seeing improvements in safety, others may be facing increases in crime. Similarly, air quality can differ greatly across the city. Our goal is to transform these statistics into relatable stories that help people better understand their surroundings.

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This Los Angeles economic warning sign is flashing red

2 weeks ago | xtown.la | Gabriel Kahn

(A row of empty storefronts on Fairfax Ave.)Fewer new businesses are opening in Los Angeles than during any period in at least the past 20 years, raising the specter of dwindling tax receipts at the very moment the city is confronting a yawning budget gap. In 2024, the city’s Department of Finance issued 30,452 new business licenses, according to publicly available data. That marks a 7.4% drop from the previous year and a nearly 50% decline from a decade ago.
Two years in, the Los Angeles ‘Mansion Tax’ is generating much less than anticipated

3 weeks ago | xtown.la | Jon Regardie

In November 2022, city of Los Angeles voters approved Measure ULA. A hotly contested tax on real estate transactions north of $5 million, with proceeds going to address anti-homelessness efforts, it was nicknamed the “mansion tax” (though it also applies to sales of commercial and multi-family buildings). According to the official ballot summary, it was projected to generate $600 million to $1.1 billion every year. The campaign was fierce.
ADUs lift Los Angeles’s otherwise dismal housing market

1 month ago | xtown.la | Gabriel Kahn

(Image generated with MidJourney)Amidst Los Angeles’s otherwise out-of-control housing market, one bright spot is emerging: Accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, are popping up all over the place. ADUs are smallish apartments made from either converted garages or new structures erected on lots next to existing houses. They were made possible by a state law that went into effect in 2017 that stripped away bureaucratic hurdles.
Walking in L.A. - sidewalks are increasingly unsafe for pedestrians

2 months ago | xtown.la | Gabriel Kahn

Through April 12 of this year, 39 pedestrians in the city of Los Angeles were killed in traffic collisions, according to LAPD Traffic Division Compstat data. During the same period a decade earlier, there were 26 deaths. In the intervening years, Los Angeles launched a program called Vision Zero, spearheaded by then-Mayor Eric Garcetti. Its goal: Eliminate all traffic deaths in the city by 2025. For pedestrians walking in a famously unwalkable city, the opposite has happened.
‘Public safety surge’ on Metro trains brings more crime reports

2 months ago | xtown.la | Christina Chkarboul

(Image generated with MidJourney)A routine trip home from work turned tragic for Juan Luis Gomez Ramirez, who was shot from behind on a Metro bus in the City of Commerce last May. Just hours before the incident, Mayor Karen Bass announced sweeping new public safety measures that would bring more law enforcement officers to Metro rail cars, buses and stations. The measures sought to address a series of violent crimes against riders and operators throughout Los Angeles’ Metro system.
Deadliest year yet for animals on the streets of Los Angeles

2 months ago | xtown.la | Gabriel Kahn

Last year, Los Angeles notched the highest number of animals being run over on record. This year isn’t looking any better. During 2024, the city received 32,398 requests to remove dead animals from the streets, according to records from the MyLA311 service data. That’s a 10% increase from the previous year and a 30% jump from five years prior. As any resident in the city has witnessed, the tally includes cats, possums, raccoons, squirrels and sometimes dogs or even coyotes.
Pacific Palisades avoids parking pain, as ticketing in L.A. remains below pre-pandemic levels

Mar 24, 2025 | xtown.la | Jon Regardie

If you are looking for a positive move by the city of Los Angeles in the wake of the wildfires, then consider the unexpected sector of parking enforcement: In the Pacific Palisades, just five citations were handed out in the months after the Jan. 7 blaze started. In total, vehicles in the community were ticketed 118 times from Jan. 1–Feb. 28, according to publicly available Los Angeles Department of Transportation data. Last year, 1,722 citations were dispensed in that period.
Illegal dumping in Los Angeles soars in new year

Mar 10, 2025 | xtown.la | Jon Regardie

Reports of illegal dumping, long a source of blight in Los Angeles, are up 36% in the first two months of 2025 compared with the same period last year. Some neighborhoods have seen calls about the practice more than double. In January and February, the city tabulated 22,046 complaints about illegal dumping, according to publicly available MyLA311 service request data. Last year in that time frame the tally was just over 16,000.
Los Angeles sees slight decline in annual graffiti calls

Feb 20, 2025 | xtown.la | Jon Regardie

A year ago, Los Angeles was having a graffiti moment. Taggers had discovered that a stalled Downtown high-rise project had little security. Within weeks the trio of towers had been covered in colorful markings. International attention ensued, as did an array of questions: How do you secure the property known as Oceanwide Plaza? Who would pay for it? Was this art or vandalism? Today the site is fenced off, but the tags remain.
Streetlight outages in Los Angeles hit unprecedented level

Feb 17, 2025 | xtown.la | Jon Regardie

Image generated with MidjourneyThe price of copper has more than doubled since the pandemic. Thieves have noticed, and are ripping out the wiring from Los Angeles streetlights at rates never before seen. In January the city fielded 5,225 reports for streetlight service, the highest monthly total in at least a decade, and 39% above the same month last year. The outages have been growing steadily for years, even as the alarm has been sounded.