Crime and Safety

Crime & Safety

Ultimate Goal: Work to make residents, workers and visitors feel safe Downtown.

Other than a perceived lack of parking, nothing keeps people from coming Downtown more than fear, according to our surveys.

Yet there was no area of discussion that led to more disagreement among CNYSpeaks participants.

Some downplayed safety concerns. Others made Downtown out to be war zone. Some favored increased security and surveillance, along with a crackdown on panhandlers. Others found this draconian.

Certainly, crime and safety warrants more discussion. People simply won’t come downtown if they feel threatened, regardless of whether that threat is real.

Action Steps:

• Improve lighting and signage. People feel safer in well-lit environments and when they know where they are and how to get to where they are going.

• Be an active spokesperson for Downtown Syracuse. Don’t be shy about telling people that Downtown is one of the safest neighborhoods in Syracuse. Nearly 10,000 workers come to downtown every day, not to mention residents and tourists; few report any problems.

• Engage citizens in conversations about crime and safety. Listen and respond to their concerns. Encourage them to work with the police, and encourage the police to work with them. Help educate everyone about safe behavior.

• Come up with a comprehensive crime reduction strategy for the whole city. It’s clear that crime anywhere in the city gives Downtown a black eye. Addressing the high-crime areas beyond Downtown is the right thing to do, and will help Downtown as well.

• Use safety as a means of justifying other initiatives. When weighing the cost of an economic development incentive, remember that if it brings more people Downtown, it is also likely to make them feel safer. This is particularly true if the development provides proper lighting and fills a ground-floor retail space. That should factor into the cost-benefit analysis.