Most residents, Plantation city officials and merchants agree the neighborhoods -- from Broward Boulevard south to Peters Road -- no longer are as desirable as they were years ago.
County residents talk about how Broadview Park and Melrose Park went from two of the best neighborhoods to two full of crime and deteriorating homes. Plantation residents who live near State Road 7 say their own neighborhoods slowly are deteriorating as well. Merchants point to the empty shopping malls and vacant stores along State Road 7 as evidence of the downward turn.
Opinions differ on the cause of the area's decline.
Some residents and city officials point accusatory fingers at their county neighbors across State Road 7, saying Broadview Park and Melrose Park residents are to blame for the increase in crime and decline of the area.
In response, Broadview Park and Melrose Park residents say they are unfairly accused. Their neighborhoods are improving significantly, they say.
''People have got to learn to live together and I think this neighborhood has shown that everyone can,'' said Melrose Park resident Dave Rowe, former president of the Melrose Park Homeowners Association. ''We've got black people moving in. We've got Haitian people moving in, Hispanic people moving in. I've got to say this is one of the most racially mixed neighborhoods I've lived in.
''I didn't move out here and buy a house to lose money,'' Rowe said. ''It's too good of an area, too close to everything, to let it go to hell.''
Even though Plantation's proposed Gateway 7 redevelopment project is being touted by Mayor Frank Veltri and other Plantation officials as the answer to several problems, some residents say they are not being informed of plans and results are taking too long.
Among the primary complaints of Plantation residents living near State Road 7:
-- Renters outnumber homeowners.
-- Traffic is increasing.
-- Crime is increasing.
-- More stores and malls are vacant.
''I think the thing that scares us is the number of houses that are up for sale and nobody's buying,'' said Susan Streicher, who lives on third Street inside th city limits, near State Road 7.
Streicher said four homes on her block are up for sale. One of them for more than a year.
Abode Realty owner Bob Bennett said he also sees the area going downhill.
''When a neighborhood starts to change is when there's five cars in a front yard, three of them up on blocks,'' Bennett said. ''No matter how nice the house is next door, he can't sell it.
''When it hurts the neighbor, it hurts the neighborhood,'' he said. ''It's a domino effect.''
In contrast, 19-year Plantation resident and 17-year real estate agent Lynda Hill said the area is improving.
''I see people buying homes, refurbishing them,'' said Hill, who works for Coldwell Banker. ''I see people putting money in here. You don't find that everywhere. Some people just trash (neighborhoods).''
''This is one of the nicest areas in the city,'' Hill said, referring to neighborhoods near State Road 7. ''In the last year and a half, the market value (of homes) is going up.''
Some people may see things as worse than they are, Plantation City Planner Rob Walsh said.
''If people think there's a problem, that does just as much damage,'' he said. ''We're all aware that there's more of a perception problem than a reality, but there doesn't have to be a problem (of image).''
Then there is the problem of burglary, Streicher said.
A number of items have been stolen from her home in recent years, including power tools and yard implements. The once-open garage is now enclosed.
''After a while, when so many things have been stolen, insurance won't even pay for it,'' she said. ''I'd say in the last four years it's crept up to the point where you have to be really careful.''
To find the culprits, one only needs look across the street, Walsh said.
''The incidents that have occurred in our corridor -- most of those incidents can be traced back to the unincorporated area,'' he said. ''That perception seems to be true, according to the data that we have.''
The statistics are neither as complete, nor as specific, as city officials would like them to be, police spokesman Ed Plaisted indicated.
Nevertheless, ''I think there's a strong suspicion among a lot of people that the crime is coming from across State Road 7 (into Plantation),'' he said.
Among those people who suspect that the county is responsible for the city's problems is James Anthony, who has lived in the same house on Southwest Sixth Street in Plantation for nearly 30 years.
''It's one of those creeping things that's been happening in neighborhoods around the country,'' he said.
But residents of Broadview Park and Melrose Park deny their neighborhoods are to blame for deteriorated businesses and increased crime along State Road 7.
''I think it's been unfairly stated that Broadview is a rough neighborhood,'' said Nancy Hooks, secretary of the Broadview Park Civic Association.
Yet statistics from the Broward Sheriff's Office show crime is on the rise in both Broadview Park and Melrose Park.
In Broadview Park, the number of felonies increased from 36 major crimes in 1986 to 475 in 1988. Major crimes include murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny and auto theft.
Sheriff's spokesman George Crolius said there were no murders during those years. But there were 13 rapes in 1988, as compared to none the previous year. Burglaries comprised about 20 percent of all crimes in 1988 -- down about 5 percent from 1987.
In Melrose Park, the number of major crimes rose from 389 in 1986 to 584 in 1988. Most of those crimes were larcenies and robberies, Crolius said.
Despite those numbers, ''The crime in Melrose Park is no heavier than in Plantation,'' resident Rowe said. ''I've heard from the Sheriff's Office that there's probably a few drug houses out here, but you have that anywhere you live.''
Rowe recalled his search two years ago for a house to buy in Melrose Park.
''I called a couple of real estate agents and they told me flat out that I didn't want to move here because I'm white. They told me that flat out. They told me I should live elsewhere because it was turning black. Quote. Unquote. That made me want to live here even more,'' he said.
As a real estate agent, Hill said she was surprised to hear of Rowe's experiences.
While selling homes in Plantation and unincorporated areas, ''I have never assessed people's needs on that basis,'' she said. ''I never have and I never will. Certainly not on the basis of race and ethnic background. I don't tolerate it, frankly.''
Residents of the two unincorporated areas said they are proud of where they live.
''It's a blue-collar crowd,'' said Lee Vandenhouten, a Broadview Park resident for more than 14 years. ''Basically, it's hard-working folks.''
Hooks agreed.
''It's a neighborhood (that) working-class people can afford to live in,'' she said.
Although she acknowledged the neighborhood has its share of problems, as do others in unincorporated areas, Hooks said she sees an area that is fighting its way back toward respectability.
Hooks and her husband are trying to revitalize the Broadview Park Civic Association, which has 100 members, an $800 budget and a newsletter called The Broadview Bee.
The life of the unincorporated is the best kind there is, said Hooks, Vandenhouten and others.
Lower home prices. Lower taxes. No intrusive city government. No strict rules on what an owner can or cannot do with his or her property. Better relations with neighbors.
''I personally like the area,'' said David Hooks, president of the civic association. ''You can park your boat out front and no one's going to scream at you.''
Residents not only respect the rights of others. But they also help teach other, Hooks said.
''I believe this neighborhood is one that is really (turning) around,'' he said. ''I'd like for people to know that this is a neighborhood that is not standing still. We're moving forward.''
Fellow resident Rowe agreed.
''I'm shocked at the way the neighborhood is improving,'' he said. ''I can only say that the two years I've been here, the people I've met are extremely nice.''
Hooks smiled.
''Plantation is nice,'' he said, ''but I wouldn't want to live there.''