Update on the Center City Initiative

Police horseVia the City of Seattle:

The Mayor’s Office and the Evans School have convened a series of meetings under the rubric of the Center City Initiative, going back to last November, that have included a wide spectrum of downtown stakeholders. The purpose of these meetings has been to have open and frank conversations about how to improve public safety downtown and to effectively address needs of people in crisis living downtown. CCI is a groundbreaking collaboration among neighborhood leaders, business leaders, social service providers and civil rights advocates, all of whom agree that public safety & public order are priorities that can best be achieved by coordinating law enforcement efforts with targeted human services investment in a way that is smarter, more comprehensive, more strategic and more effective than past approaches.

These conversations have advanced several important policy and operational changes:

Park Rangers: In June we added two new Park Ranger positions and also focused their work on known hot spots – Cal Anderson, Westlake, Occidental and Victor Steinbrueck parks. The added capacity and new focus means that the Rangers are able to have a more permanent presence in these four key parks. We are also working on an effort as part of the 2014 budget to provide dedicated SPD resources able to back up the Rangers whenever needed.

Police Enforcement: Since taking over the West Precinct over a year ago, Captain Dermody has focused on data driven policing and getting more officers out on the street. Proactive emphasis patrols have already been focusing on known “hot spots”. Last week we announced $400,000 in additional resources that will be used to augment this work through more violence prevention emphasis patrols. In the West Precinct this will mean 2 to 3 officers each week out on the street focusing on known trouble areas. We will also be prioritizing police resources in our 2014 budget.

LEAD Expansion: The Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program has been in effect in Belltown going on 2 years thanks to private grant funding. Through LEAD, officers are able to divert individuals who are causing problems or who need help into services and case management. SPD is able to work with other outreach workers to identify and prioritize known challenges. And instead of cycling individuals quickly through the criminal justice system, officers are able to give them a more productive path that is then monitored by a case manager. LEAD is a partnership between SPD, the City Attorney, the King County Prosecutor, the Mayor’s Office, the King County Sheriff, the Department of Corrections, the ACLU of Washington, the Public Defender Association, and community partners including the MID, the Downtown Seattle Association and the Belltown Community Council, as well as downtown social service providers. We are now looking at expanding LEAD to cover all of downtown.

Multi-Disciplinary Team: In preparation for LEAD expansion across all of downtown, we have set up a multi-disciplinary team that includes HSD outreach workers, SPD, the Park Rangers, and the MID Ambassadors. This group is now meeting weekly to strategize about addressing the needs and issues of individuals who have posed public order issues, with an initial focus on Westlake and Occidental Parks. Follow up will include outreach, service provision and, where appropriate, using traditional law enforcement tools in a way that is coordinated by all involved law enforcement agencies. We are working with Councilmember Sally Bagshaw to fund service dollars in the second quarter supplemental that will help stand up this work prior to LEAD expansion.

Failure to Respond: The City Attorney has agreed to file failure to respond charges on a case by case basis to provide a level of criminal justice accountability for repeat low level offenders who have received citations for behaviors such as sit/lie, public urination, and drinking in public. Captain Dermody has developed a priority list of repeat offenders and that has been submitted to the City Attorney. It is expected that the multi-disciplinary team will help prioritize these and other individuals for failure to respond citations if that is deemed the most effective way to change the individual’s behavior.

Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Update – September 2013

Milepost 31 speaker series – Learn about the buildings that support the tunnel systems

 

Scale Bertha model at Milepost 31 in Pioneer Square

The new SR 99 tunnel’s vital functions – safety, lighting and ventilation systems – will be controlled from buildings located at both ends of the tunnel. Crews have already begun construction of the building at the south end just to the east of the tunneling machine’s launch pit. Join us for the next speaker series to learn about these sophisticated buildings, how they are sustainably designed, and what the completed structures and their surroundings will look like.

 Thursday, Sept. 5

6 to 7 p.m.

Milepost 31

211 First Ave. S., Seattle

Admission is free.

 After the talk, be sure to leave enough time to explore the rest of the First Thursday Art Walk in Pioneer Square. Milepost 31 is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and stays open until 8 p.m. on First Thursdays. Free parking is available for First Thursday art walk patrons in Pioneer Square. Please visit www.FirstThursdaySeattle.com for more information about participating garages.

And don’t forget you can track Bertha’s journey to Seattle on Twitter by following @BerthaDigsSR99.

 

Community & Business Development Update – September 2013

Kristen Honeycutt Photo Co.-038Brendan McGill, Food and Wine’s “People’s 2013 Best New Chef” and owner of Hitchcock on Bainbridge Island, is hard at work to open the doors to his new beer hall on 1st Ave S this fall.  Brendan said, “We’re calling it Altstadt, which means ‘old town.’ The idea is like the Hofbräuhaus outside of Munich– a hall where you can drink beer and eat brats. For us, Pioneer Square is old town Seattle.”  There’s paper on the windows now, but keep your eyes on this space next to Milepost 31.

The Klondike Mercantile in the Klondike Gold Rush Museum is history.  (Sorry.  Just couldn’t resist saying that.)  Welcome Seattle’s National Park Store!  The changes mean that you’ll now be able to pick up maps, books, and more for travels to many of the northwest parks that so many of us feel a connection to.  Even beyond to Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks.  We love our national parks.

In addition to Altstadt, London Plane, La Bodega, and Ebbets Field Flannels are busy making preparations to open doors to their new digs, too.  Stay tuned for details!

We’re still drawing attention:

  • Seattle Met Magazine’s “Fall Style” edition, coming out in October, will feature models wearing beautiful clothes at sites throughout Pioneer Square.
  • A new national Hyundai ad was shot on Occidental Square in front of Frederick Holmes & Company Gallery.
  • KUOW 94.9 FM will broadcast a live remote from Pioneer Square on Friday the 6th for their new program, The Record.  The program runs 12:00-2:00 PM.

Rain Shadow Meats, McCoy’s Firehouse, Salumi Artisan Cured Meats, and Grand Central Bakery products – as well as products from a few Chinatown/International District restaurants – will be for sale at CenturyLink Field this season!  Watch for them at a few of the concession stands, as well as in a new Neighborhood Concession Stand that will be open for business soon.

On September 24, you’re invited to join the Alley Corridor Project design team for a Nightseeing Talk & Walk in Pioneer Square. The walk is a chance to look at issues and share ideas for improvement.  Leni Schwendinger, a New York lighting designer, will participate in the community workshop.  (Click here for an article about one her recent workshops in New York.)   Contact Liz Stenning at liz@isiseattle.org or call (206) 397-8638 for details.

The first new residents of The Nolo who moved in over Labor Day weekend.  Welcome to the ‘hood!

 

Karen True

Community & Business Development Specialist

Alliance for Pioneer Square