I’m late on this issue, but felt the need to highlight the new downtown teen curfew imposed by the City Council.
A recent News & Record article highlights the following,
“The city adopted a curfew Tuesday night prohibiting anyone younger than 18 from being downtown without an adult, as well as stronger ordinances against loitering.
The curfew is aimed at giving police another tool to make downtown safer by preventing teen victimization and criminal activity.
“What we have on the books is not working,” Mayor Bill Knight said. “Something is wrong and we have to fix it. This is a step forward.”
Councilman Zack Matheny, who spearheaded the changes, said they came as a result of discussions with people who own property in or frequent downtown over the past few years about downtown safety at night.”
Ok, let’s all stop and think about this for a moment, and be honest.
Downtown Greensboro has been thriving for some time now, and had no significant problems until ownership of the N Club (Which will now have a new name) changed hands.
I haven’t had time to track down the time period at which ownership changed hands and police records to cross reference, but I’m almost certain you’ll see an increase in crime after the new owners took over.
The club has made many downtown residents feel unsafe and is the anchor of the loitering issue the council has tried to tackle.
The quoted portion from the News & Record article highlights “teen victimization.” I get that, and just like everyone else, kids need to stay safe. BUT, so does everyone else.
If you are walking south on Elm as you leave Center City Park I’d really like you to be safe when walking past what was previously known as the N Club. Excuse me for not wanting you to get shot… even if you are 18 or over.
And, does this change mean the council, that has a Republican majority, has grown to be UN-business friendly?
Here’s the logic.
UNCG had 5,264 first-time freshmen in 2010. Of those 86 were 16 or 17-years old. You might immediately think, “That’s a small percentage,” but hold on one second. Those kids have friends… and when they go out to dinner, or to visit something like the Idiot Box (in downtown) they may like to go places where they can all go without facing some sort of police harassment. That being said, they opt to not patronize the downtown businesses.
Is that business friendly?
Also, does this mean that if I’ve aspired to open a teen club in downtown that I can’t do so without my customers being harassed upon exiting?
If crime is so bad in downtown Greensboro, why is the council not taking extensive action to make it safer… for everyone? Why has the previously mentioned club been able to remain open after causing so many safety issues? It’s worth noting that I believe said club owner is on the Board of Downtown Greensboro Inc… or one of their committees.
To be clear, the effort to create a safe downtown should be applauded, but creating rules to dance around a problem is not a fix.
PS – Didn’t I also read that the Greensboro Police Department advised against the implementation of a curfew?
