Keeping the light aflame

At the beginning of the Rev. Bruce Wall's weeklong occupation of Lyndhurst Street, he and six followers did exactly what they had set out to do: They tried to confront the bands of dope dealers, prostitutes, and other young people who were hanging out at night on the street corner that some residents call the Hell Zone.

But by the middle of the week, Wall had a gang of his own: about three-dozen Boston police officers, MBTA police, probation officers, city councilors, clergymen, cameramen, and flashing police cruisers were at his side.

As a result, the thugs and dope peddlers Wall had vowed to reach cleared out of Lyndhurst Street. And his patrols quickly turned into late-night strolls and prayer circles through the empty streets of Codman Square and Grove Hall.

Tomorrow, Wall's occupation of the street will end, along with the beefed-up patrols and nightly visits from high-ranking city officials. Some residents question what Wall has accomplished.

''They'll be back when all this is over," said Jimmy Ambroise, 16, who lives in a brick apartment building at the center of the Hell Zone, referring to the characters who strike fear in Lyndhurst residents at night.

Wall, who has been a minister at the nearby Global Ministries Christian Church for the past 13 years, said yesterday that he plans to maintain a presence on the street. He said he had formed a partnership with the Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corporation and that he would continue to patrol the neighborhood, dropping in without warning, over the next year.

''Yeah, I know those people are coming back," he said of the troublemakers. ''But when they do come back, they aren't going to see the police. They are going to see little 56-year-old me. And they know that all I have to do is pick up the phone. They know I can bring some drama."

Not everyone in the neighborhood wants Wall back.

''I personally can't wait for him to leave," said a 45-year-old Lyndhurst resident who owns a Victorian-style home a few feet from the troubled street corner. He declined to give his name for fear of retaliation. ''I have an empty apartment upstairs that I can't rent because of all this attention," he said.

Captain Frank Armstrong, who has patrolled the streets with Wall, said residents who live in the single-family houses on the end of Lyndhurst Street farthest from the Hell Zone worry that the reputation of their street has been permanently scarred.

''It's not a Hell Zone," Armstrong said. ''Did some unfortunate things happen here? Yes. But it certainly doesn't deserve the moniker Hell Zone. I have people telling me, 'Hey my property value's going down.' "

Community activists acknowledged that Wall's occupation had disrupted the illicit activity around the street.

''It's probably stopped some people from running a very profitable business on that corner," said Emmett Folgert, director of the Dorchester Youth Collaborative. ''Even if things don't change right now, a seed is planted."

City officials say they are taking seriously the problems at the street corner, where two apartment buildings have become a haven for drug users.

''He forced us to deal with the problem," Larry Mayes, head of human services for the city of Boston, said of Wall. ''There no doubt that that corner is crazy, and he's shined a spotlight on it."

On Wednesday, the city installed a new floodlight, with a protective shield, on the side of the Post Office that faces the troubled apartments. People who hung out on the corner often broke the light.

In the coming weeks, the city will also install on the roof of the Post Office a surveillance camera, which will send a live feed to the Police Department.

''I'm hoping to expand this idea of cameras to all of Codman Square," Mayes said.

Chris Duffy, the owner of 4 and 6 Lyndhurst Street, and Ted Ahern, who owns 12 and 14 Lyndhurst Street, have also been fixing broken windows in their properties and talking with city leaders about ways to rid their apartments of drugs and crime.

But no one has found a way to get people off the street.

Monique, 23, was among those approached by Wall during a patrol late Monday night. She was sitting on Washington Street across from the corner of Lyndhurst, with a beer in hand.

When Wall prayed with her, Monique cried.

''I just got so much stuff going on in my head," said Monique, who refused to give her last name.

Meghan Tench can be reached at mtench@globe.com.