CINCINNATI — More than two weeks after Cincinnati officials placed temporary barricades on Republic Street to disrupt a dangerous open-air drug market, police say there are early signs that this strategy may be working.
“So far, so good, let’s wait and see,” said Over-the-Rhine Community Council President Kevin Hassey. “I’m encouraged … there are more police in the area, particularly north of Liberty. They are on foot, in cars.”
The drive-thru drug market had become so dangerous, that it prompted city leaders to try a slew of drastic changes to quash it.
City officials placed temporary water barricades on Republic, between Liberty and Green streets, on May 13 for a six-month trial period.
Then last week officials added temporary fencing along the side of a recreation center on Republic Street, to block crowds from gathering underneath a popular overhang for shade and shelter.
“This street, you could walk down pretty much any time of the day and you’d see people huddled right here drinking and smoking and using drugs … I think the fence is obviously a big deterrent to that,” said longtime OTR resident John Donaldson.
When WCPO first toured the neighborhood in April, it was littered with homeless camps, trash bags of loot from car break-ins, graffiti and human feces on sidewalks and building ledges.
A resident provided us with surveillance video of shootings, public defecation, a homeless man stabbing a planter with a large knife, people openly smoking crack pipes and daytime sex on a sidewalk.
Since our stories aired last month, both Hassey and Donaldson say they have seen more police in the neighborhood.
“It energized people to do something and this is the right time to do it because it’s the warmer months and that’s when things really start to pick up,” Donaldson said. “We’ve seen this before. We’ll get a lot of attention and then a couple weeks down the road it disappears.”
Donaldson said he would like the police to be more proactive: restrict nighttime parking on parts of Vine Street, stop and frisk suspected criminals, remove chairs and milk crates from sidewalks where crowds sit, and bring in large generator lights.
“The generator lights are very helpful especially where you’ve got the crowds,” Donaldson said. “One, it shines the lights on them. Two, it’s the noise and it’s hard to talk over them, so they’re going to move away.”
The city is taking steps to brighten up the neighborhood. Floodlights will soon be added to the back side of the Republic Street recreation center and all streetlights will have LED bulbs by the end of the year, Hassey said.
“It’s hundreds of bulbs switched out to LED because they’re brighter and their range which they provide brightness is significantly larger than traditional bulbs,” Hassey said. “It’s harder for bad guys to be in a dark corner doing things.”
The city is using a PIVOT program, which is meant to target small areas of chronic violence, to push resources to this problem area north of Liberty Street, just blocks from Findlay Market.
"Many of them (criminals) aren’t even from Over-the-Rhine. If they were doing those kinds of activities on a quiet street they’d get found out in about an hour. But when they’re in a group of 50 or 100, mostly of good people, the bad guys love that environment," Hassey said. "That’s what makes big crowds harder to manage and harder to find criminals and keep the streets safe."
City attorneys have filed public nuisance complaints against problem property owners, and are using fencing, temporary alley closures, street parking restrictions, and a temporary light tower on East McMicken Avenue to improve conditions.
On May 13 city crews installed the orange water barricades on Republic Street to disrupt the drive-thru drug trade that drew out-of-town dealers and both local and visiting buyers.
While WCPO saw less activity on the street during a recent visit, it appeared that drug dealers were walking around the area and approaching cars, as people sat on top of the barricades.
“Barricades have been in place for only a short time so far. While it is too early to make any firm assessment, there have been some signs of positive change. There has also been some positive feedback from residents and nearby stakeholders,” wrote District 1 Capt. Matthew Hammer, in response to questions from WCPO.
When asked if the barricades had pushed the crime and crowds to nearby streets, Hammer wrote, “It is too early to tell if there have been significant changes regarding the spaces drug dealers use. There are some anecdotal signs of market disruption.”
Police are considering adding more parking restrictions to the area.
“We continue to attend to disorder and criminal activity here. We are aware of concerns in the 1600-1800 block of Vine Street,” Hammer said.
While the pocket of crime around Republic Street may have improved, Donaldson said a block or two away on Vine Street, the problems persist. Of particular concern is at St. Francis Seraph Church where crowds regularly gather and people sleep in the doorways.
The church recently put up no trespassing signs and marked their property with a yellow line that extends up to the public sidewalk.
Police have been working with the church to help manage disorderly behavior on their property, Hammer said.
“So far there has been mostly peaceful compliance. Some individuals have moved to Vine Street. Some challenges remain. We are evaluating place-based and enforcement needs in an ongoing basis,” Hammer said.
Meanwhile, the state declined to fund a controversial new housing project in the neighborhood that would have served the homeless and mentally ill. Some residents opposed the project because of its closeness to the open-air drug market.
The nonprofit Tender Mercies had hoped to buy the St. Francis Seraph friary and applied to the Ohio Housing Finance Agency for low-income historic tax credits for the $21 million project.
But the housing finance agency’s board declined to fund the project, according to a May 15 news release.
