Roy Exum
Faced with the exciting news that 2,599 apartments, 268 condos, 748 hotel rooms and a half-million square feet of office space are coming to Chattanooga’s central city, I’m sorely afraid to tell you to take off your rose-colored glasses. If the truth be told, not many people who work downtown would ever want to live there. Why? There is far more petty crime, harassment by panhandlers, lack of parking, traffic headaches and rowdy crowds – especially at night -- than you’ll ever find in real estate brochures.
A friend got in touch with me not long ago and shared just several incidents of how reckless the immediate area around the aquarium has become and, if our city leaders have any hope of increasing tourist dollars, there has to be a major effort on several fronts before “downtown” ever regains its glamor.
Check this list:
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On February, this in the middle of the afternoon, a female who works at BB&T bank, was coming out of her office and sees an African-American man stumble and fall. She approaches him. When she does, he grabs her and thrusts what appears to be a gun into her side. He steals her purse. She yells that she needs her keys. He throws them at her. Her purse is later found outside of a church on Pine Street.
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In July a prominent female executive meets a client a 212 Restaurant for lunch. As she walks to the meeting, a homeless man, easily recognized because he “works the street” almost every day, sees her. They make eye contact but do not exchange greetings. After lunch the man is waiting outside for the female executive, who is now alone. She walks across Market Street and the man comes after her. Thankfully he has to wait when the light changes. The female sees the man running toward her. She gets in her car and he misses her. Not long after the woman escapes, the homeless man actually appears at her office and rings the buzzer saying, “(redacted) told me to come see her.” He is denied access. The female reports this to the police with the man’s description. Downtown police recognize who he is and talk to him.
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In August the same female has an early-morning meeting at Panera and leaves with a cup of coffee walking back to her office. An African-American man coming through Jack’s Alley from Broad Street sees her. He closes his flip phone and starts walking quickly toward her. At that time, a police officer comes out of Panera with his cup of coffee. The man immediately turns and hurries in the other direction. The female tells the officer what happened and the officer tries to find the aggressor.
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A BB&T banking officer likes to walk to her daily meetings downtown in the summer. There’s a well-known homeless woman allegedly named Mary who is an aggressive panhandler. The banker knows Mary and often says hello when she sees her. Because of the crime downtown, the banker carries no cash or a purse. She only carries her “smart phone” and debit/credit cards in her pocket. Mary sees the banker and asks for cash. The banker declines, saying she doesn’t have cash. Mary then tells the banker she’ll walk with her back to her office to get the banker’s ATM card. They walk back to the office and Mary doesn’t get past the bank’s full-time security.
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On Sept. 24 there is a fight between two white men on the sidewalk outside Chicken Salad Chick. Police are called but problems persist because at the corner is a bus stop. The restaurant owner has requested the city to remove the bus stop in front of his restaurant. The homeless use it as a place to sleep and also steal his salt and pepper shakers outside of the restaurant. In addition, patrons dining outside are often panhandled while eating. Since the city started charging for parking on Saturdays, Chicken Salad Chick has lost 30 percent of its Saturday revenue.
OTHER NOTES OF INTEREST
* -- In the 400 block of Market Street alone, Greyfriars Restaurant, Noodles Restaurant, World of Beer, and Back Street Betty’s have recently closed. (Greyfriars has relocated in the LifeStyle building while Betty’s is reportedly moving to Frazier Avenue. “The rent is higher but parking is free.”)
* -- Sugar’s Ribs has closed on Broad Street for lack of business. Its East Ridge location is flourishing and its parent company, The Boathouse, is considered to be among the top restaurants in the Chattanooga area.
* -- Georgio’s, located in the 700 block of Market Street, is plagued by a constant rain of dust and debris from an apartment construction site next to it. A sign on the door reads, “Excuse THEIR Mess.” The northbound traffic on Market Street has been reduced to one lane for months by the builders.
* -- More than several people have been injured by curbs of the bicycle lanes on Broad Street. The lanes are woefully under-utilized and the answer to why they didn’t just install one is that two are more “aesthetically pleasing.” Businesses on Broad Street claim the resulting congestion is keeping customers away. Throughout the day delivery trucks cause Broad Street traffic to be reduced to one lane in both directions, and next to Buehler’s Market the trucks regularly park in the bicycle lanes because there are hardly ever any cyclists using them. And if there are two bikes lanes on Broad Street that aren’t being used, why is there a third just one block away on Chestnut Street that is also not being used?
* -- One week before the recent Ironman competition, city workers were watering dead shrubs in sidewalk planters. When asked why they were watering dead plants, the workers said they were “following orders.” The dead plants remain dead two weeks after the Ironman event.
* -- The Highway 27 DOT project has forced a homeless “camp” from the Cameron Hill area to the open spaces near St. Paul’s Church and the YMCA on West 6th Street. Garbage, human waste and aggressive panhandling have become “active problems” for both.
* -- The River City organization offered six “pop-up” business free rent for up to six months on Chestnut Street several years ago and only one lasted more than a year. River City is reportedly offering months of free rent to other businesses in the urban core because of closed businesses but “now everybody knows” what is really happening.
Go see for yourself … just without the rose-colored glasses.
royexum@aol.com