Comments on Streets Is Watching

i don't get it - the crack deals & blowjobs are what makes Belltown great.

Belltown is rapidly disintegrating back into the state it was when I first moved into the neighborhood ten years ago, only this time the crackheads are scarier. I applaud Corsi and offer support, but last time it took "the Belltown Beatings" (and I think a murder) before there was any real cleaning up of the streets, no matter what the merchants tried to do.

Kirsten
Roq La Rue Gallery
2nd and Bell

Maybe Corsi should invest in a blowgun.

Document, document, document!

Set up a surveymonkey.com site and get all the neighbors to record the when, where and how of what's going on. Great for presenting to Mayor, City Council, Police, Liquor Board, whatever.

How about live, streaming video of offending [public] spaces?

Would take a significant investment. A cheap mickey mouse (tm) webcam might only last a night, but the more expensive models offer vandal/bullet proof enclosures. That would also make them more visible and a better deterrent??

I am sorry to hear a committed merchant like Kirsten Anderson state that Belltown is going backwards -- she, and the other merchants who have tried to make the neighbor hood better, don't deserve that one bit.

Aside from that, which one of those dumpster people was Mr. Poe?

they (elevated condo dwellers) should use boiling pots of oil as a deterrent. I'm sure that would strike fear into the hearts of alley-scum.

I really hate being in the area from 2nd and Battery up to 4th and virginia, except I have to go there for work every day. It's just a real shit hole for the most part. I feel sorry for the people who would be moving into the condos at 3rd and Bell. I hope you enjoy your view of the crack...err..dog park. And that Kellys pub.

This is so strange. With so many expensive, beautiful condos, that have brought in so much density, in an area so urban. That things like this would be happening.

Perhaps you can't just build huge monolithic buildings, made of the worst materials, that look like shit and enourage people to hide away in there "bunker style" condos.

It's so wierd ths would be happening in a "neighborhood" with no parks, no grocery stores, and no place to get a cup of coffee after six in the evening; but with plenty of parking for Venom,Twist, and the ever popular Sea Sound Lounge.

CapitalHill, I really love the new additional parking next to Kurrent. I'll be visiting more and more.

Oh man. That just depressed me a little bit.

As much as people want to make this about elitist condo snobs, I lived in the same area (2 blocks from the location of this story) in a very cheap apartment until December of 2007. One of the main reasons I wanted to move before spring was that I knew the crackheads would come out in full force once they could stay out all night without freezing. The center of this bullshit is Kelly's bar. Does anyone know why this bar is so attractive to crackheads? I can't just say the city should shut them down with no good reason, but it seems suspicious that a shitty bar in Belltown would attract so many crackheads.

Don't you read Dan Savage?

Drugs are just what people do....lay off!

If it feels good, do it!

Dan is a voice from Ancient Rome....

Yes!Belltown @8, just stay in Belltown. Feel free to learn how to use punctuation properly.

You know, this situation sucks all around. I feel badly for the tenants who have to deal with this, but their stupid commentary on their videos, "look, here are the bums smoking their crack again", gets a little old. I'm not sure what the solution is, if there even is one, but I don't think it's YouTube videos.

This "documentation" could be done by people in certain neighborhoods of every city. Sorry, but people in an alley smoking crack is not a new epidemic that should be greatly worrying urban apartment-renters or condo-owners.

I understand that this also becomes a safety issue, as the owner of Txori mentions that her employees have been given pepper spray. But for people to say that they won't return with their children? Come on. Maybe you shouldn't bring your children into the "city"/downtown/Belltown at all! They might see a fight, or an arrest, or other things that never happen in "safe" neighborhoods!

While I don't think that the residents of this area or people who work in the area should feel unsafe, I doubt that this problem will be remedied very soon. Sure, increased patrols may break up some of the activity, but it will be pushed somewhere else eventually.

Finally, on a note that might completely invalidate my argument, I frankly don't feel too badly for these condo-dwellers. I have spent time working in Belltown and many of the people who lived in the neighborhood seemed like they thought they were "entitled" to a pristine environment free of homeless people or litter. Move to Bellevue, please.

Where's a paintball gun when you need it..:)

Conchis.

I am already there. Say hello to BOOM!Noodle! Say hello to the new and IMPROVED Pike/Pine Corridor! Say Hello to the rad new bar/restaurants in Oddfellows Hall! Say Yes to Belltown my friend.

I just think it is great that the City of Seattle can't (excuse me won't) learn from the poor neighborhood planning of the past.

I've alos heard that a lot of cool, hip, rad, things happen in The Georgetown, so after I get tired of The Hill I think I might start to infest the 9lb.

One of the big reasons neighborhoods such as Belltown and Cap Hill see these recurriing problems is due to the reactive approach of Mayor Nickels and the SPD. They only do something when there is a murder or a rash of crimes. And then after a couple weeks the police presence disappears and the problem resurfaces. Not a way to approach urban crime. I find it hard to believe that the city allows an area like Belltown, with chic restuatants and million dollar condos, to so deteriorate. I really can't imagine a city like NYC or SF allowing this to happen. One more reason I won't be voting for Nickels next election.

just remember those crackheads are working hard to keep your rent down.
No, seriously, cheap webcams streaming through the windows.

By the way, the other end of downtown is bad too. I work in the Smith Tower and see dudes exchanging goods and pissing in the alley all the time.

Belltown is just going back to its natural state. In the 80s and 90s it was where you would go to get heroin. I remember giggling when I drove by the "dog park" thinking that there was no way I would take my dog there - who knows what it would pick up. The problem is when you move suburban yuppies into the city, the city problems don't just miraculously go away. A stronger police presence would help, but giving these people a reason not to do drugs or sell their bodies might be a better way. We have enough damn people in jail and prison in this country.

When I walk out on my patio, I see my lawn, some trees, rolling hills, and the sky. But then, I don't live in the city, and Dan Savage would have me believe that there's something wrong with that. Sure, I give up proximity to restaurants, shopping, culture & such, but I also get to walk outside at night and see stars, not crack whores.

Still, to live closer to a good indie bookstore, I guess drug deals a few feet from my dinner table wouldn't be so bad...

@16-- In SF, this sort of thing goes on in front of the building, not in the alley.

#12: exactly.
you want to shell out amounts of money that most plebes cannot, to have your "urban experience"? welcome to the city, yokel. don't move into an established URBAN environment (no matter how "detrimentedly" urban it is) and bitch when it isn't immediately gentrified.
donate your time/money to services trying to HELP these people instead of snidely taping them from the comfort of your fucking condo.
sorry for the capital letters; i hate them too.

Ahh yes... where are all the density freaks at now? Let's all talk about the wonderful benefits of density and ensuring we have low income housing, shelters, and assisted living residences to complete the melting pot of incomes.

Boy this sure makes the prospect of living downtown so much more appealing.

Please keep telling me more.

Why should I pay extra for high density urban living again?

@20 your comments are spot on.

This is why I laugh every time I hear proponents of forced mixed income diversity within the same area via subsidized housing efforts.

What a joke.

start calling in noise complaints on the bars, that'll get the cops down there.

Honestly, I don't get why dont' have beat cops here. I go to NYC and there's cops walking around, even at night. I go here, and the only place cops walk around at is the financial district. No where else have I ever seen a cop on foot. It's fucking ridiculous.

Well thank god the Police are saving us from porn at the Eagle.

Money well spent.

@26

I think Jonah Spangenthal-Lee's article "The (Very) Thin Blue Line" might give you a clue. It was just published on March 26.
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=541750&hp

After you read that, read the letters to the editor that were published a week later.
http://new.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=546114

We should also acknowledge that with the continuing decline of the economy, American cities are going to get more violent and ugly. That's how it works. Brace yourself. It's happening.

Belltown plays a huge role in my history in Seattle. It was the first place I was served underage (18, La Rive Gauche, 1985). There were parties, art openings, and interesting things going on all the time. When of legal age, I worked there, for years ans years and years, at the Lava Lounge, as a DJ and bartender.

The neighborhood has NEVER been worse than it is now. It feels dangerous, always. Day or night.

Tonight, walking back to my car, after attending a few gallery openings, I turned my rings so the diamonds faced my palms, and clutched my purse to my side. It was still light out.

There was a gang of 15-20 transients/obvious drug users near my car, parked on Bell, outside of Mama's. The restaurant was busy, the streets were bustling. I quickly unlocked my door, ignoring the offers of narcotics and catcalls.

It was still light out.

I have seen some shit. I lived in London for a couple of years, I have traveled a fair amount, I have been in plenty of sketchy situations in the 206. Tonight freaked me the fuck out.

Belltown needs the beat cops back, it needs the art community that used to actually walk the streets and live within the neighborhood, it needs involvement. It needs law and order.

Density? Fuck you. There is nothing urban about driving your car into a garage and taking the elevator to your safe condo, after you've finished grocery shopping at Whole Foods.

Belltown broke my fucking heart tonight. I have never been more nervous and on edge as I was this evening, walking from a gallery, on a busy street.

I know it sounds silly. But - I just went through an ordeal where I videotaped this crazy stalker dude who keeps attacking my building, and the prosecutor wanted to make sure that they dude knew he was being recorded (he did).

It is illegal to AUDIO tape someone without their knowledge in the state of Washington. Video is okay. In order to make the tapes admissible in court (maybe that's not important) you can turn off the microphone or put signs up: "area under video and audio surveillance" or something like that.

So, just to play the devil's advocate: cops/government installing cameras everywhere ala 1984 is a bad thing, but private citizens photographing/videotaping drug dealers and posting to YouTube is a good thing?

I agree that the drug deals behind alleys need to be stopped (they should be moved into the pharmacies already), but is this really the best way to achieve that?

Wow! Crack and blowjobs all in one easy to reach location. Talk about one stop shopping. Thanks for the tip! I'll be sure to give this a positive yelp listing too.

1. Point garden hose out window.
2. turn on when annoyed

Just so people know, the Concept One apartments are pretty new (I think built in 1990), but they are market-rate apartments, not condos.

Kerri is right: The fact that they have parking under the building keeps law-abiding people from interacting with the street. We need design review that recognizes that buildings need to be oriented toward pedestrians, not parking.

The irony is if Nichols was videotaping the back alleys, people would be up in arms about the violation of privacy rights, kind of like the ones arguing against Cal Anderson cameras.

So what do we do? Take it into our own hands so we can selectively present evidence to the city?

I don't see any problem with either, personally, because the violation is for the greater good. I've had two friends jumped in Cal Anderson and don't go to Belltown anymore. It's like crack zombies down there. I've been in too many close calls - maced when walking next to a group of them trying to distract us.

I'm kind of square and a business owner so I figure, if you're worked up about being watched in public, you must have something to hide. And the sad fact is that Seattle is really passive about supporting/forming neighborhood watch groups, which is what this videotaping would be.

I guarantee the cops are going to be annoyed and disregard it as long as possible but imagine how ridiculous the grounds would have to be for them to ignore it in the long run. It just makes them look bad.

Is this a place?

Maybe it's because I grew up in Vegas, but people are actually afraid of Belltown?

Jay, people in Seattle are pussies. Period. I saw a dude get shot on Broadway with a fucking pellet gun, and i was shook because it was so random and i thought about the what if it was a real gun, but i didnt think seattle was dangerous.

also, fuck the condo owners (buyer beware). also, fuck the people that have no sympathy for the condo owners. you know you suck frank chops ass for low income housing but you dont support anything that keeps that shit safe like more cops.

23, Belltown isn't dense. It's got tall buildings occupied as far as I can tell by folks who come and go in their cars. The streets are empty most of the time (or at least were 04-06 when I lived there) but for the dealers and the homeless and the addicts. If there were businesses in the area other than bars that were open late, and REAL density, with lots of ordinary folks coming and going, you wouldn't have the problems there that exist. But it's a vacancy, and a vacuum attracts flotsam. One twenty-five story condo on every block isn't density. Blocks of five-story apartment buildings over neighborhood groceries and services, open late: THAT'S density, and it is a long way off given the modest plans the city has for bringing people into the downtown.

I had a drugged out woman jump out of an alley and kick me last Saturday on Blanchard between 1st and 2nd. I've had enough and will be avoiding Belltown as much as possible in the future.

My morning bus rolls down 3rd at 8:00 AM, people are out smoking crack on sidewalk, maybe later in the day they move to the alleys. Practically the only storefronts open anytime on 3rd are social services.

Is it possible to force developers to rent their retail storefronts to SOMEBODY after 6-12 months empty? Belltown, Pioneer Square, Broadway and the Ave all have perpetually empty spots waiting for the market to catch up to SF/NY rents or a chain to move in.(Seattle has as many Urban Outfitters or American Apparels as it needs.) Artists, crafters, book/record/antique dealers could open temporary shops in these black holes without investing much in fixtures.

I lived in Belltown from May 2006 to August 2007. During that time the problems in the neighborhood only got worse. The police actively avoid responding to calls even when it is a situation like brandishing a weapon that has the potential for getting seriously out of hand.

I had the misfortune to live within a block of Kelly's and can confirm that it along with the open-air drug and prostitution market on 2nd & Bell are indeed the epicenter of much of the crap going on down there.

I lay much of the problem at the feet of Mayor Nickels and Chief Kerlikowske. Say what you will about Chief Stamper, at least under his watch community policing seemed to be working to reduce public acting out by the riff raff.

The city needs to bring back the sort of community policing we had under Stamper. Pay the Police better and double the size of the force.

Unfortunately I believe increased use of private security such as what MID does is also necessary. Belltown merchants and property owners need to join the MID and similar efforts are needed in the ID, on Capitol Hill, and the U-District.

when i lived in belltown the first week i was in my apartment there was gunfire, prostitutes, etc. belltown is quaint compared to EPA.

It's just such a quintessential Seattle situation: move too late to a neighborhood, realize your idealized mall city vision is unrealistic, passive-aggressive set-up of a camera, whine and snitch...

Such pussies, indeed. Yell out your window, throw some water on them, take a REAL stand!

This stuff only serves to prove, once again, that Seattle is just a big small town... Sack up and do something!

We can't throw water on them, that is technically assault. And we yell - they ignore.

Why are people calling her a racist? Do they know what race she is? Also, I see white and black people on the videos. Is she Asian or something?

duke E del,

Point! Seriously, I will never understand the whole moving to an urban neighborhood and then complaining about its problems.

No sympathy. If you can't take the heat...