Businesses In Long Beach Threaten To Leave If Crime And Drug Use Don’t Get Under Control.

According to a local newspaper, prominent businesses in Long Beach, California, are threatening to move if problems like violence, drug usage, and homelessness are not resolved.
According to the Long Beach Business Journal, District Wine owner Angela Mesna stated this week that “customers don’t feel protected.” “My employees are scared. In order to serve our customers on the parklet, we all carry pepper spray.”

To discuss local crime problems and ways to prevent companies like Mesna’s from leaving the downtown area, city leaders intend to meet on Thursday.

“Downtown is in a hopeless, depressing, and discouraging position. We may not have many options left if we want to keep our Downtown location “Gabriel Gordon, a co-owner of Beachwood Brewing, emailed the Downtown Long Beach Alliance on October 27.
In his email, he listed the problems that are prevalent in the neighborhood, such as the use of drugs openly by some people and the close proximity of violent crime to the restaurant. Gordon once witnessed a couple fighting outside his business, during which a woman was knocked out cold. However, he claimed that no one arrived when he contacted the police.

Gordon claims that the occurrences have reduced his revenue by more than 25%. Gordon’s email was relayed to city officials by the CEO of the Downtown Long Beach Alliance, who also mentioned that the alliance has learned that other businesses are threatening to leave the area due to worries about public safety.

According to the Long Beach Business Journal, Austin Metoyer wrote in his letter to the city’s leaders, “While Downtown has had challenges over the last two years, these recent months have brought an entirely different level of issues concerning the aggressive and erratic behavior of individuals who may be struggling with substance abuse or mental health challenges.”

To “search for permanent options for tackling this urgent situation,” he summoned a meeting for this Thursday.
Mesna’s District Wine launched in 2009, and since then, she claims that the downtown area has become increasingly unsafe. She intends to retain the company in the neighborhood for the upcoming six months, but it might relocate sooner if other businesses close down in the interim.

Mesna stated, “It’s almost doing more harm than the pandemic.”

Advertisement

Mesna continued, “I love Downtown and I love Long Beach, and it crushes my heart to watch what’s happening.”

In recent weeks, several corporate executives have raised concerns about city homelessness and public safety.
In an interview last month, Serina Lim, the owner of a jewelry business, admitted, “I’m afraid for my personal safety and, of course, for my clients.”

Lim continued, “I’m fed up, which is why I’m speaking up.

Some have attributed the problems to the staggering 62% increase in Long Beach’s homeless population since 2020. The downtown area has had a 32% rise in property crime so far this year, according to the Long Beach Business Journal, and even the Billie Jean King Main Library had to close for roughly a month this year due to safety concerns.

The Downtown Long Beach Alliance estimated that during the second quarter of 2022, 22.4% of office spaces were unoccupied due to a decline in foot traffic for businesses downtown.