Tim Burgess' City View

Keeping Downtown Neighborhoods Attractive and Strong

A couple of weeks ago, I attended a quiet little celebration that highlighted the new residents and new jobs that have sprung up and transformed the South Lake Union neighborhood. About a hundred neighborhood activists, representatives of the area's mega-developer Vulcan, business owners, urban planners, and others reflected on the ten-year conversion of a sleepy, somewhat run down area adjacent to downtown into a thriving, upbeat area with thousands of new residents and jobs.

Danny Westneat wrote about South Lake Union's success in last Sunday's Seattle Times, giving appropriate credit to former Mayor Greg Nickels for his vision and persistence in pushing forward the redevelopment of the area.  David Brewster posted an interesting historical perspective at Crosscut.com last Monday.  (Here's a link to the report that both Westneat and Brewster cite that summarizes what's happened in South Lake Union.)

Brewster, in his Crosscut piece, raises an interesting question about how the success of South Lake Union will impact the downtown core of Seattle.  Frankly, we would do well to accept Brewster's commentary as more of a challenge than a question. We dare not become complacent about our downtown, an area of multiple neighborhoods stretching from Lower Queen Anne to the International District and Pioneer Square and from South Lake Union to First Hill and the Central Waterfront.

An attractive and strong city center doesn't flourish on its own.  It takes determined work and a constant focus on things that matter, like the attractiveness of the pedestrian environment, crime and street disorder, quick and efficient transportation options, and strong businesses. (Continue after the jump for a list of key steps to maintaining an attractive and strong downtown . . .)

Angel Band Project Last Night in Ballard

Joleen and I went to the Tractor Tavern in Ballard last night for the debut of The Angel Band Project's CD honoring Teresa Butz and all victims of sexual assault. 

You may remember Teresa.  She and her partner were savagely attacked in their South Park home in July 2009.  Teresa did not survive, her partner did. 

And last night in Ballard Teresa's partner (who has requested anonymity) opened her heart to the packed house and sang.  It was powerful.  There was purpose and conviction in her voice.  She spoke and sang on behalf of women everywhere who are attacked, sexually assaulted, abused, often forgotten.  She gave them all a very strong voice.  The CD and last night's debut event benefit The Voices and Faces Project.  Buy the CD here.  Read a brief review of last night's performance at The Stranger.

Another example of Teresa's partner's strength is her recent testimony before the City Council supporting restoration of funding for the police department's victim advocates program, a personal liaison with the criminal justice system she continues to benefit from today as her attacker’s case winds through the courts.  You can listen to her testimony here.  The Council voted to restore all funding for the victim advocates and directed the police chief to place a higher priority on their services to victims and witnesses.

 

Nightlife in the City

One of the thorniest issues we struggle with in city government is how to encourage a lively and economically-successful nightlife scene while also protecting public safety and neighborhood tranquility.  It's not easy, but thankfully the vast majority of nightlife establishment owners and managers take their responsibilities seriously and do a good job of maintaining peace. 

Yesterday, the Council's public safety committee received a briefing from the City's Code Compliance Team.  Here are some key facts from the briefing.  (You can watch the whole briefing here.)

The Sally's

Got squeezed between the Sally's on TV last week.  It's amazing what C. R. Douglas can pry out of us.  We covered a host of issues.

Seattle Channel Video can be played in Flash Player 9 and up

Spreading Stories: Anatomy of a Police Incident

Sometimes truth escapes the best of us.  Fear, adrenaline and chaos can distort reality, sometimes very quickly. 

On December 9, 2009, at a community meeting in Ballard, I heard several individuals describe an incident in their neighborhood that, if true, revealed a troubling collapse of the city's emergency response services.  A bar owner alleged that he was stabbed by a customer and that it took 25 minutes for police and medics to arrive at the scene.  I apologized on behalf of city government.  Here's a story in the Ballard News Tribune about

Building Community

I had an interesting experience last week when I brought together two very distinct, focused and important groups in our community: downtown business leaders and representatives of the music and nightlife industry that is thriving in Seattle.  It was a long overdue and hopefully continuing conversation. 

Read all about it here at Publicola. 

Montreal Gangs

Last night, Renee Cunningham, executive director of the Seattle Police Foundation, and I rode with a Sargent from Montreal's Eclipse police unit, a specialized squad of uniformed officers who focus on certain high offender street gang members.  There is a separate gang unit made up of detectives who build cases and identify gang leaders.

The gang problems in Montreal—about 20 street gangs operate citywide—involve prostitution, drugs, and illegal guns.  The Eclipse squad targets gang leaders who range in age from 30 to 45 years. 

Montreal's gangs include foreign gang members from Haiti, Jamaica, and other Latin American countries.  Juveniles are recruited "to do the dirty work."   We visited one strip club in downtown Montreal frequented by gang members.  Officers checked identifications of patrons and spoke with the owner, a woman with a government day job helping juvenile offenders make better choices (that was a massive disconnect, for sure).  The obvious question was whether the owner uses her day job to "recruit" dancers for her club.  Police suspect she does.

About a month ago Montreal police arrested the leaders of a motorcycle street gang—many remain in jail—who controlled much of the street prostitution and drug trafficking in the downtown core of the city.  In their absence, other, less organized gangs have moved to establish their own foothold.   

Threats Against Capitol Hill Bars

The City Council issued the following statement this afternoon related to the threatening letters received by several gay bars on Capitol Hill and the Stranger newspaper—

“We condemn the threatening letters sent to a number of gay establishments operating in the greater Capitol Hill area and to the Stranger newspaper.  We are maintaining ongoing contact with the Seattle Police Department to stay apprised of the situation, with hopes that the offending parties will be swiftly apprehended.

“The Seattle Police Department and the FBI are investigating the source of these letters and are reaching out to targeted establishments.  We applaud the diligent work of these enforcement agencies and their high-priority response to this threatening situation.

“We would like to affirm that the City of Seattle has a zero tolerance policy toward messages that incite hate and prey on fear.  Whether this is a serious threat or not, the Seattle City Council, in partnership with the Seattle Police Department, asks the community to be on alert for any suspicious activity and immediately report such activity by calling 911.”

Last year, my colleague, Tom Rasmussen, and I took a walking tour of Capitol Hill bars after several reported incidents of gay bashing and assaults.  We're working on another visit for sometime next week.

Seattle's Nightlife Scene

Councilmember Tom Rasmussen and I walked the Capitol Hill Pike-Pine Street nightlife scene last night (Friday, Aug 29)  starting at 10 p.m.  Brian Hawksford and Nigel Herbig, two of our legislative aides, joined us, as did a few police officers from the East Precinct.

East Precinct Captain Paul McDonagh led our walking tour; that's McDonagh in the photo explaining how police interact with club security staff.  We visited eight clubs, entering most for quick walk-throughs. 

Several things impressed me, beyond the fact that I'm far, far too old for the club scene.  McDonagh and his officers were on a first-name basis with almost all of the club and bar security staff we encountered.  The clubs were not heavily attended, except for R's, but there were no problems.  McDonagh explained that in the past year club owners, security staff, and police have open stronger communications links and there have been fewer problems in recent months. 

No doubt, the clubs create a lot of noise from the bands and DJ's performing inside.  But, generally, we observed a pretty tame night.