Friday, November 6, 2009

Broadway Robbery

"Dear Mayor Piercy,

I own a small business along West Broadway. Several years ago we came to work on a Monday and found our business sign taken down off it’s normal hanging place—but still on the front porch. We thought it odd and learned a little later that there had been a crime committed at our address the night before. It went like this.

Two people called a pizza restaurant and ordered a delivery pizza. The address was ours. When the delivery car showed up, the caller met the deliverer on the porch (without the sign, it looks like a residence) and demanded money. The criminal didn’t get much because the driver didn’t carry a lot of cash. A few days later we found a knife in the bushes and called the police—offering it as evidence to go along with the crime. A statement to the effect of “that is such a petty crime that we don’t pursue leads in cases like this…” was offered so we dropped it. Still, it was unsettling to learn that something like this was committed on our property and that it would be easy to get away with such an act.

When does downtown get cleaned up and become inviting/safe again?

Business owner"