Glenwood-Brooklyn resident Hillary Davis Burgdorf recently sent the following email to City Council and we are publishing it here with her permission.
Thank you for your increased attention to our quality-of-life concerns as a direct result of the city’s entertainment districts.
Firstly, I ask that you please acknowledge that attendance at a weekday afternoon meeting is not wholly representative of the number of residents impacted and asking for change. Many neighbors are unable to attend today due to work and childcare limitations, like myself.
Second, I’ve been vocal about my family’s experience with the Glenwood South spillover, but today I want to highlight two recent conversations I had with individuals who do not reside in North Carolina to emphasize that there is increasing awareness of our safety issues:
1) A 30-something business school friend currently lives in Denver, CO. She and her fiancé were intrigued by the waterfall of accolades and yay-Raleigh propaganda we see toting our city as a top destination for young families. They spent a month renting an AirBnB in Mordecai to get a feel for the city and its neighborhoods. They went so far as to make an offer on a home, only to withdraw it days later. The constant news headlines reporting assaults, stabbings, and shootings downtown ultimately scared them away. A direct quote is, “while Denver has a major homelessness problem, they have services in place and the city maintains control of their drunks.” They did not feel that was the case in Raleigh.
2) A 20-something friend visited from Hartford, CT (for those unfamiliar, Hartford is a city plagued by gangs and gun violence, and also where I grew up). She initially intended to host her bachelorette party in Raleigh during a weekend in October. While searching for a hotel for their group, one of her bridesmaids stumbled upon the article about 2 back-to-back shootings that occurred near Glenwood/North St. this past summer. Those stories linked to the reports of similar incidents occurring throughout downtown. Unfortunately, the group of young ladies decided that Raleigh was not a safe destination for them to celebrate.
It is no secret that neighbors are impacted on a weekly basis. But now the word is spreading outside of Raleigh and it’s only a matter of time before we see a direct impact on Downtown Raleigh Alliance’s prized visitor, resident, and revenue numbers. For a city that prides itself on its growth, it sure feels like we are too big for our britches right now.
I wish you all a productive meeting.
Thank you again for your service to our city,
Hillary Davis Burgdorf
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