Business leaders address violence in Warren

WARREN -- A concern about safety in the downtown Warren area drew a crowd of about 40 business owners and residents calling on city leaders to create strategic action to combat violence.

Part of that plan called for the business men and women who gathered inside the Robins Theatre to organize and share their views on what that action should look like and what the next steps are to see it to fruition.

The meeting was organized by Paul Clouser, owner of National Fire and Water Repair; Josh Nativio, manager of All American Cards and Comics; and Jim DiCenso, representing the Downtown Development Group.

Several of the business owners in downtown Warren shared their frustrations following two shootings that occurred in the city's downtown this year and called for more safety measures, including more police presence. They also discussed the issue of blight and the homeless problem in the downtown area.

The local leaders referred to violence in early June when three teens were shot after an argument that began inside a festival occurring downtown and spilled over into the area of the former Burger King restaurant near Main Avenue SW and South Street SW.

Another incident occurred in September, when a man was shot near the Horseshoe Bar -- a short walk from where the Tuesday meeting took place.

Nate Barker, owner of West & Main, said the progress in building up the downtown with things to do is drowned out by "shootings, homelessness, blight and garbage."

Clouser agreed, "Tens of millions of dollars invested. That's what it took to get people to start coming downtown and two shootings can undo all of that."

As the holiday season approaches, crime is one of the concerns of Rosalyn Hill, owner of 5 Grands Boutique on High Street, which has been operating downtown for 13 years.

"We want people to come downtown and shop," Hill said. "But if the people that live in Howland are afraid to come to downtown Warren, that is a problem."

Kristin Riley, a Republican candidate for Warren City Council's 4th Ward, said she moved to Washington Street more than eight years ago from Texas and said she ignored the stories she was told about Warren's issues. She said she did not experience any issues herself until the past few years.

"Then the hookers came around and then the people overdosing in our elderly neighbor's yard and people trying to get in our home," Riley said.

She told the audience that over the past year, there have been four shootings in her area alone.

"If you want to attract people to live here and stay here as property owners, which would be a more stable tax base, I would think we got to make it safer," Riley said, calling on both the police and city officials to do more.

Despite the concerns, a common theme of the meeting was, "What are we going to do about it?"

Steve Lewis, owner of Midwest Ventures and Consulting LLC, a local real estate investment and management group who purchased the Huntington building in downtown Warren, also spoke.

Lewis offered a suggestion that the attendees scale back the organization, shrink to a few representatives instead of the approximately 40 in attendance. From there, he suggested the scaled-back group of business owners and shareholders work with city leaders to offer their advice and cooperate with city officials on strategic solutions, not be combative with them.

"There's a lot of talent in this room that can help pull this together in an organized fashion and present it to the administration in a very cohesive manner. And I think we're gonna get results back," Lewis said.

Prior to the meeting, attendees received a questionnaire to cite some of their specific concerns.

Those responses and the suggestions offered at the meeting, Clouser said, will be used to put together a structured set of arguments to bring to city officials in the future.

"If this city is to do what it can do, and unleash the potential that the citizens have so rightly invested in, the only way to do that is to have leadership at some level to make that happen," Clouser said.