Around (down)town: Responding to the tragic events of last weekend

News from the Downtown Alliance

October 13, 2021

A note from the president

Friends,

The terrible tragedy that occurred this weekend on West 7th Street has us collectively mourning. Our hearts are with Marquisha Wiley’s family, friends and surrounding community, and the victims of that night.

And after a summer of dramatic improvement and a season of celebrating our progress – the results of which include the lowest downtown crime rate in five years – these events have left many of us rattled. Our friends and customers have wondered aloud about coming downtown for concerts, or hockey games, or going to the office. It can feel as if we’ve lost our momentum, but this is the reality of community building. The truth is that no city or town will be able to prevent all tragedies, and they will always shake our confidence. It is our job in these moments to double down on our progress and the effective public safety strategies that we know can make downtown safer and more vibrant for everyone.

I speak for the Downtown Alliance when I say that we do this work because it’s our calling, because we love our community and we love our neighbors, even if and when we disagree. We will continue to support our neighbors in formal and informal ways. John Bandemer, our Street Team Ambassadors and our Safety Communications Center are going to continue to provide and improve their services to keep positively impacting safety outcomes and perceptions in downtown.

We will also continue to support our West 7th businesses. I’ll be having breakfast, lunch and happy hour there on Friday (The Downtowner, Tom Reid's and McGovern's respectively). Join me if you like, or pick a time that works for you. I know they’ll appreciate it.

Please don't hesitate to reach out any time,

Joe Spencer

President

Saint Paul Downtown Alliance

A note from the director of safety strategies

The tragic events that unfolded at the Truck Park Bar last Sunday morning were a reminder for me to celebrate every day, because you can never fully know what is around the corner. Unfortunately, in recent years we have seen a well-documented increase in gun violence across the country, which was sadly on full display that night. And while Saint Paul has not been spared from these trends, I am comforted knowing that the Saint Paul Police Department (SPPD) and it's hard working officers are among the finest anywhere. An excellent team of SPPD investigators continue to review video and photos from last weekend’s crime scene, witnesses are being interviewed and the forensic unit staff are processing any physical evidence that was recovered.

Last month, the Downtown Alliance shared that crime was at a five-year low in the downtown police grids during the months of June, July and August. On our last public safety call, SPPD Central District Senior Commander Jeremy Ellison shared that September continued trending in the right direction. All the hard work that was done over the spring and summer months paid dividends. That work included:

Increased overtime for SPPD presence in defined action areas
Increased presence of Ramsey County Sheriff's Office (RCSO) deputies
Increased services for those experiencing homelessness
Opening of the Safety Communications Center to improve communication between private security teams and law enforcement
Deployment of the Street Team to create a cleaner, safer and vibrant downtown

To more acutely address criminal activity beyond quality-of-life crimes, the following initiatives will now also be occurring in and around downtown:

SPPD officers will now be covering until 2:00 a.m. on weekends
RCSO will increase their walking patrols including later in the evenings and during events
The Department of Safety Inspections is working with the Truck Park Bar to ensure they have a safe plan for when they reopen
The SPDID street team will continue with extra patrols and cleaning of the area

As things develop I will pass along any information that I can. As always, call with questions or concerns.

Respectfully,

John Bandemer

651-775-2342

Saint Paul Downtown Improvement District

Director of Safety Strategies

Additional news and events from around downtown

The History Theatre reopens this Thursday for the first of two weekends of Not in Our Neighborhood! the story of Nellie and William Francis. More info and tickets here.

Here's a look at what else is happening soon :

October 14-24: Not in Our Neighborhood! | History Theatre

October 14-17: Sister Celeste's Haunted Walking Tour

October 15: Movies in the Park: "The Shining" | Mears Park

The full calendar of events can be found here.

Have questions?

Drop us a line!

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stpdowntownalliance.org

Banner photo cred : Visit Saint Paul