No new bldgs but its good to see one DT neighborhood is reducing crime.
Chinatown ID revitalized, rebuilding
Broad community collaboration in the Chinatown International District has helped make the neighborhood safer, cleaner and brighter.
By Anna Boiko-Weyrauch /
Seattle Times Staff Reporter
Visitors to this weekend’s Dragon Fest in the Chinatown International District might notice glints of change throughout the neighborhood.
Hip new shops have opened and once seedy public spaces now attract lunchtime visitors, playing kids and impromptu games of chess. Graffiti has been painted over and trash-filled alleys are kept clean enough to host outdoor art shows.
Nine security cameras record street activities around the neighborhood, with two more cameras soon to be installed. Calls to 911 have dropped noticeably.
That’s not to say all is perfect in this historic part of Seattle — some storefronts remain vacant, panhandlers still ask for spare change and thefts continue to be a problem.
But over the past three years a broad collection of businesses, city departments and community groups that have not always shared the same agenda have teamed up to transform the Chinatown ID into a safer and more inviting place.
The neighborhood is a successful example of how a community can coalesce and win city funding, said Andres Mantilla, a manager in the Seattle Office of Economic Development.
“They’ve done a really good job of organizing all the interest groups and putting it together in a strategy.”
More police foot patrols in crime hot spots and footage from private security cameras have helped push out suspicious activity and solve crimes, said Sgt. Paul Gracy, who leads the West Precinct’s Community Police Team.
Police have also increased outreach efforts to break down language and culture barriers and build trust with residents.
“We’ve been having more meetings with them and trying to get to know them,” Gracy said, and the closer relationship has yielded results.
Neighborhood feels safer, residents say
On a recent afternoon, buskers serenaded Hing Hay Park with a soprano saxophone and Chinese violin, while two girls tested out a pingpong table.
Real Change vendor Jihad Salaam said he loves seeing children at play instead of drug dealers in the park, even though a 12-year-old recently beat him at a game of chess.
“I haven’t picked up chess since!” Salaam said.
A security camera watches the park from across the street — an important piece of the revitalization. From 2010 to 2012 a community group called the Seniors in Action Foundation raised $100,000 and installed nine cameras throughout the center of the neighborhood, and in June raised another $35,000 to add two more.
At a meeting three years ago, community members identified where the cameras should go up by putting dots on a wall map, signifying areas they knew attracted drug dealers and vagrants.
Now, two community groups monitor the camera footage over the Internet using access codes and provide it to police when break-ins or vandalism occur. Lighting has been installed in the park and alleys to discourage crime after dark.
Sitting at a table in Hing Hay Park, longtime Chinatown ID residents Chan-ye Lamb and Huang Yue said the neighborhood feels safer now. Nora Chan of Seniors in Action translated from Cantonese.
Chan led fundraising efforts for the cameras by organizing dinners and encouraging private donations. “We’re really happy to see it’s made some changes,” she said.
Statistically, crime is down across the city and the West Precinct, so it’s hard to pinpoint how much of the improvement is because of the cameras or increased policing.
In the Chinatown ID, calls to 911 have dropped around 9 percent since the cameras were installed in September, compared to the same period the previous year, according to Seattle police records.
Overall, crime is down around 6 percent in the neighborhood from September 2012 to March 2013, when the most recent statistics are available, compared to the same period before the cameras were installed.
“The crime doesn’t necessarily go away,” Gracy said. “But if we can just manage it better so people feel safe and we have a better presence, then we can keep it under control.”
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