Augustín O Aponte (eastern part) Despite the fact that many homes in La Perla have been built without proper permits, residents of La Perla do have utility services. Garbage pickup is done regularly in the neighborhood, which in 1973 consisted of about 900 houses and 3,300 residents. La Perla has a community-oriented music recording studio, El Estudio D' Oro, which serves as a free of cost music production workshop for all ages. El Estudio D' Oro is also home to the FM urban radio show, Hip Hop 787 La Verdadera Escuela, which is broadcast live from the studio on WVOZ Mix 107.7 FM. In 2010, Carmelo Anthony remodeled the basketball court located to the eastern side of La Perla, with a new surface and design featuring the logo of Air Jordan’s Melo footwear line. It eventually became known by the name of the Nuyorican athlete, who also repaired several other venues throughout the island. The refurbished playing field was later included among "the most breathtaking locations for a basketball court in the world" due to its oceanside location overlooking the Atlantic. In June 2011, the Drug Enforcement Agency with other agencies targeted 50 properties in La Perla and indicted 114 people from La Perla for drug trafficking. The area has a reputation for being dangerous, but the popular 2017 music video filmed there made it a curiosity amongst tourists, with some wanting to venture in to see where the video was filmed. In 2016, students of architecture at universities in Puerto Rico asked children for their ideas on how to improve their favorite areas of La Perla. is a colorful, bowl-shaped cemented area in La Perla, used for skateboarding on weekdays, and then filled with water on weekends, to serve as a pool. On September 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico and La Perla "looked like it was hit by a bomb". "Despacito" (the song title that translates to "slowly") was also used to highlight and criticize the slow United States response to the destruction at La Perla caused by Hurricanes Irma and Maria, where the video was filmed. The National Park Service assisted the few residents of La Perla with tarps soon afterwards. Census In terms of the United States 2000 Census, La Perla is composed of Census blocks 3001 through 3010 (Block group 3, Census tract 4, San Juan, Puerto Rico). A population of 338 was reported,