To the Old Town Community,
As I'm sure you are all aware, our Old Town community was hit really hard yesterday morning. Three of our local businesses were victims of widespread vandalism, numerous broken windows, theft, and one building was set on fire. The damage is significant. Luckily an early morning jogger saw the flames and reported them to AFD and the response was quick to put the flames out. However, the damage remains substantial.
It is right to feel frustration, outrage, and anger in light of these events. It's also normal to feel helpless when something like this happens in our community.
But what can we do as a community?
When an event impacts a wide swath of properties and businesses in such a significant way, it affects the entire community. We must, however, focus our energy, outrage, and frustration toward productive action. We need to channel these emotions for the good of Old Town and for the specific businesses most harmed by these senseless acts of crime.
The Ask from the City & APD:
Is anybody listening!? It seems like Old Town has done everything in its power to address crime and property damage by organizing and fundraising within our community to pay for private security. We had to take these measures due to the lack of response from APD and the minimal recognition and support from the City and APD.
Sure, after a spree of vandalism comes through Old Town, we get the attention of the Mayor, Chief of Police, Area Commander, and officers. And we thank them for that. Even as I write this, APD has eight patrol cars in Old Town, and their attention is very focused here. But we all know how this story goes. Give it a few days or weeks, and once the immediate heat is off, it will revert to the status quo of minimal support and neglect for Old Town. We are tired of this cycle—brief heightened attention from APD after yet another incident, only for it to wane after a week when their focus shifts elsewhere. This approach doesn't work, and it’s not a solution.
In contrast, what we want and need from APD is a continued and long-term commitment to Old Town that at least matches the commitment we, as a community, have funded ourselves through private security. Regular patrols.
Our ask is simple, and our ask is reasonable:
This is a reasonable request and it could be a highly effective deterrent to the types of crime Old Town experiences on a regular basis.
What YOU Can Do:
Write a letter - Write an email: Let's make our formal ask of the City. In the letter, communicate your views and your perspective. But all of these letters should have one request in common: One nightly patrol from APD through all of Old Town, 365 nights per year, in perpetuity.
It is no longer acceptable to accept the same excuses from APD as an answer. We don't care about the funding issues; we don't care about the staffing challenges—those same issues have plagued APD for decades. Our ask is simple and reasonable.
Please send your email/letter by Monday, August 19th.
Next Steps: We will then combine these letters, along with a formal letter of petition from the Board of the Historic Old Town Association (pending board approval), and formally present our unified request to the City Council.
Let's get APD and the City to match the level of security we've already provided ourselves. It's their turn.
We are a Community - Let's Act Like It
Let us not forget that although we, as a community, may feel directly impacted by these events, three businesses are directly affected.
I will reach out to each business owner to ask what would be the best way for us as a community to help them specifically. We are considering starting a fundraiser to assist with repairs and damages, but we want to understand their needs first.
After I have a conversation with each of them, I'll communicate back what would be most helpful. Perhaps we could create a deductible fund, where we, as a community, help cover the initial cash outlay for these types of events in the future. More to come on this.
For the good of Old Town and the benefit of our community.
P.S.: A huge thank you to Pete Kassetas who helped ignite the initial conversation and forward movement on this issue. Pete and I talked Tuesday night and we are in agreement and are on the same page in terms of the request. Security cameras are also still on the table, but we want to focus our efforts on what can make the largest and most immediate impact for Old Town right now. And that's nightly patrols. Security cameras are next, but more complex. More to come on that in the future.
J.J. Mancini
President of the Historic Old Town Association
president@albuquerqueoldtown.com
