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Thu. May 3, 2007, 07:06am PDT
Conversation on a lively and safe downtown
A great topic has come up over at the BIA blog. How can downtown Tacoma become a place of 24-hour activity and, to be blunt I'd add, who's even invited to the party? Paul writes to emphasize that collaboration between businesses, property owners, and residents could be the key to finding a balance and strength among neighbors. Possibly missing there is closer coordination with the City and even with patrons who may take part in a 24-hour downtown.
Who's invited to the party?
Recent discussion got too hot to allow over at Exit133 concerning downtown's Club Impact and the shock waves and sting still resonating with other local business owners regarding the shooting that occurred near there. Is there a general distaste toward youth among downtown stakeholders? Peter Whitley chimed in on the BIA blog to call out the paradox of stakeholders wanting activity but shunning skateboarders. Has anyone even heard that Peter has ways to help retrofit structures to mitigate damage done by an otherwise harmless activity? How do low-income downtown residents get heard so they're not just relocated out of sight and mind? Still others want historic preservation while some may argue that places like the old Elks Lodge have stood too long as eyesores and its time to move on. Where does historic preservation end and forward progress begin?
Idealist mentalities aside, how do we all speak and hear one another to reach our goal of a greater Tacoma?
Tough questions? I'm pretty sure we can handle them. Feel free to respond below anonymous or not and have at it. If folks have grievances to air just get it out. The online environment is a great place to get together and talk things over -- no specific meeting times that never work for everyone. Don't wait for guys like me to post, get in the forums over at FeedTacoma or Exit133 anytime and talk about this stuff. Without open conversation no one around here will ever truly be on the same page and be able to push forward together.
Comments (8) | To Top
5/3/2007 @ 9:49am
I would love to see skateboarders in that area, personally. Fireman's park would be a great place for a skate park, and there's plenty of empty storefronts on 9th and Pacific, just waiting for a skate shop.
by jenyum
5/3/2007 @ 10:24am
Wouldn't it be great if downtown were lively enough that parents who drop their kids off at the club or a skatepark could just stay downtown rather than heading back home. It would help businesses and save the environment by saving trips.
I just hope truly everyone is welcome in the discussion and uses online resources to do so. Let's face it, not everyone can make in-person meetings.
Also, if some local businesses have trouble being youth-friendly would they also have a problem being street vendor friendly? What if a local business wants to have their spot on the sidewalk as well as their usual brick-and-mortar?
by KevinFreitas
5/3/2007 @ 11:28am
In the interest of frank and open discussion, could you provide a brief recap of the "Club Impact" situation? I'm not familiar with it.
by jenyum
5/3/2007 @ 12:58pm
Sorry, it's "Club Friday" and here's a link to info about the shooter's recent conviction:
http://www.thenewstribune.com/331/story/50112.html
Basically, there were kids at the club and around and a shooting happened outside. Does having youth around downtown insight this sort of thing no matter what the venue or was this an isolated case that businesses shouldn't worry about?
by KevinFreitas
5/5/2007 @ 1:39pm
fyi - the TNT will be retracting the title of that article..."Club Friday" wasn't on trial and the shooting didn't happen at "Club Friday", it happened in the street around 8th and Pacific, surrounded by many local businesses.
by JC
5/5/2007 @ 7:47pm
JC: Good to know. I wonder how local businesses might help embrace youth downtown while still keeping things as safe as possible?
by KevinFreitas
7/13/2007 @ 12:39pm
There is a lot of history behind this story - When Brick City, a Christian-based organization reaching out to "at risk" youth moved into the building at the corner of 9th and Pacific - many local businesses expressed concern for a myriad of reasons that included the following:
- This is an adult area with bars that serve alcohol.
- At risk teens are just that - "at risk" and often come from broken families and backgrounds of run-ins with law enforcement.
- Helping and encouraging youth are good things for a community to embrace. Making up for damaged families should not necessarily be the charter for a downtown nightclub area nor is it the responsibility of businesses in an area recovering from a history of drug dealing, and more than its share of at risk individuals (e.g. more than 200 units of poorly-managed low-income housing and a history of crime tied to the buildings).
Brick City opened and surrounding businesses were assured by its managers that there would be security and off duty Tacoma police officers present during events or they would not open. We were also assured that if there were any concerns we should contact Brick City management at once and they would immediately address any issues.
Club Friday almost immediately became a problem - with a lack of adequate security, supervision, and its venue being hip-hop, the music of which is frequently dominated by violence and the degradation of women. I was told that these were issues as well by an insider that worked there and it was obvious from MySpace information about the Club such as posted lyrics and gang references.
Living nearly across the street from Brick City, what I immediately noticed on the nights Club Friday had events was that many gang-banger types of individuals would come to the neighborhood and hang out.
Club Friday assured us that if there were problematic individuals that they would be trespassed from Club Friday - a good thing - but then they were just roaming our neighborhood looking for trouble.
One night there was a near riot and about twenty Club Friday patrons were in front of my building and one man had a woman's head pushed up against one of my plate glass windows. There was fighting in the street and my partner Marty and I had to literally stand in front of my building to protect it. Ten police cars showed up.
We contacted the management of Club Friday and they never returned our calls. Around that time business owners on my block had called a meeting with City Manager Eric Anderson, Tacoma Police Chief Ramsdell, CLO Sector 1 Commander Lt. Corey Darlington, and officers for the area that included Marty Price. Also in attendance was Tacoma city council member Julie Anderson.
We expressed concerns over crime and security in the area and the lack of swing shift police patrols, which had been cut back. We stated that we felt that problems could escalate and how already more than 40 businesses had been broken into downtown. We were assured that the patrols would be returned to the area - they were not.
Six months later, nearly a year ago to date, one person was murdered in front of my building and a young girl was paralyzed. Marty and I made the 911 call and saw the young girl bleeding on the ground in a parking space in front of my building.
The next morning crime tape surrounded my building and the ground was filled with yellow tags marking more than twenty spent rounds of bullets that came only inches from my front door. Luckily my daughter, who is frequenly with me on the weekend, was not home.
The night of the shooting there were in fact no off duty police at Brick City. Also the police report taken states the the gang members involved in the shooting were inside of the club that night - something that Club Friday continues to deny.
Club Impact operates on Saturday night and is rarely a problem except that frequently the area is chaotic with up to two hundred teenagers milling around on the sidewalks and in the street for up to six hours at a time. I still think that this is an inappropriate place for under age children - I would never have allowed my daughter when she was a teenager to be in a downtown metropolitan nightclub area at night unsupervised.
This type of unsupervised chaos provides a distraction that contributes to other nuisance behaviors in this neighborhood and when you combine it with a continued lack of police presence and the TPD's focus on reactive policing instead of preventative, proactive security, problems continue to occur, as demonstrated by issues that I have been documenting regarding On the Rocks Bar.
Frequently the different groups have negative interactions - last weekend I witnessed negative energy similar to that which existed prior to the neighborhood shooting - I watched a group of Club Friday patrons move up the street to the gay bar area and engage in a shouting match with patrons of On the Rocks - the Club Friday kids were calling the On the Rocks patrons "homos".
Before the shooting I also filmed under age kids drinking in their cars and going into Brick City. Although one person was supposed to be the contact for all the different groups that use Brick City, this has also proven to be problematic. The onus has been on the neighborhood to figure out which group was causing problems and relations with Brick City management and surrounding business owners have been tenuous at best. At security group meetings attended by the DMG, BIA, TPD, and businesses that the community has called to address the concerns, Brick City takes a somewhat defiant tone that they are only here to help the kids. After the shooting they tried to scare me by threatening to sue me for defamation of character because I have documented all of their activity. I had to hire an attorney to back them off.
by Sir Not-Appearing-In-This-Flim
7/13/2007 @ 2:34pm
I just wanted to say that I am definitely not against youth, skateboarders, or street vendors.
I am against vandalism, crime, and people of any age not respecting eachother, eachother's property, or eachother's right to "life, liberty, and "the pursuit of happiness," as stated in our Declaration of Independence.
There is a certain anonymity inherent in downtown areas of a city and public attitude seems to be a variation of it belonging to everyone and to no one.
Consider these ideas more thoroughly:
Downtown Belongs to Everyone - People believe it is their inherent right to use downtown areas at any time for any purpose and have the city take care of issues like maintenance, security and making sure everyone's rights are respected. These issues take time and money to properly address and many times there aren't the city resources to do so. If the issues aren't addressed clearly, particularly when businesses, property owners, and residents are involved, chaos ensues.
Downtown Belongs to No One - People believe that downtown belongs to no one and that no one cares about it - because no one cares about it people think that they can do things that they would never dream of doing in their own neighborhoods or homes.
The notion that downtown belongs to on one can unfortunately bring out the worst in human behavior.
I regularly witness people empty the garbage from their cars onto the street; publically urinate/defecate on the street and in parking lots; scream, and honk their horns.
I am not even addressing criminal behavior here.
In the case of skateboarders, I have watched them slam skateboards repeatedly into the front brick facades of beautiful 100-year-old buildings, one of which I own on Pacific and took great pride and joy in restoring. I am proud that my building is on the local historic register and don't wish to see or pay for it being damaged.
Street vendors can be a lively and wonderful addition to any streetscape, if the process to bring them is well thought out and executed.
However the City of Tacoma is struggling to establish very basic urban planning policy such as a coherent downtown parking program, adequate policing of the downtown area, and how to balance placement of social service oriented development such as low-income housing that serves high-risk populations.
Perhaps the most glaring issue Tacoma wrestles with is the lack of a viable downtown retail community and the fact that many existing downtown businesses are struggling.
All of this is just my opinion. I think all of these issues must be addressed before additional proposals such as bringing in street vendors are put on the table.
by Sir Not-Appearing-In-This-Flim