KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Staff of a new restaurant moved in Sunday to their space, a building owned by Henry Service, at the corner of East 18th and Vine streets. Hours after police cleared the scene of a shooting that killed a man across the street.
Service, who also is an attorney, said he believes the recent rash of violence is a symptom of the racial inequalities that he and others have vocalized inrecent weeks of protests on the Country Club Plaza.
"And nowhere else do they have to invest and try to make a living where the city's got their knee on the necks of the people who are investing," Service said. "They don't help. They won't give any kind of financial incentives for people to develop this area. They won't develop their own property. All they do is hinder the businesses down here."
The homicide happened in a parking lot owned by Kansas City, Missouri, as much of the properties at 18th and Vine are after leaders pledged to invest $27 million within the entertainment district four years ago. But community leaders said they haven't seen much of that money.
"The city doesn't care about black-owned areas and so they're letting people come down and commit crimes from the city's own property that is 100% owned by the city and blighted,' Service said.
KCMO District 3 Councilwoman Melissa Robinson got word of a large crowd gathering in the district before the shooting and called police.
"We know that a police presence alone is not going to solve all of this," Robinson said, "but the lack of a public-safety response is also a challenge that we have to overcome."
In the short-term, Robinson is looking to secure $50,000 so the district can hire six to eight off-duty police officers who can patrol the area starting as soon as next weekend and at least through October.
"I want to feel safe and trust that I will be OK in my surroundings," said Kaitlyn Tennant, who visited the 18th and Vine District Sunday afternoon.
RELATED: KCPD: One dead, four injured in shooting at 18th & Vine
Barber Joey Thomas, owner of 180V Barber Salon, said he thinks security is just the first step.
"If more people came down here respecting where they’re at, respecting the culture, respecting the environment, understanding what type of businesses that are reinvesting back into the community, what type of people that are reinvesting back, I think more people have more understanding on that they would treat things differently," Thomas said.
To help lift the district, Robinson plans to introduce a resolution this week asking for $7 million that would go toward addressing blight, installing more lights and adding security cameras.
She's also looking to start a community improvement district allowing businesses to charge a sales tax to assist with improvements.
"If we're paying that everywhere else we go, we should be paying that here at so that we can have that same standard," Robinson said.
Community leaders encouraged the public to attend the 18th and Vine Development Policy Committee meeting set to take place at 11 a.m. Tuesday inside the Black Archives of Mid-America, 1722 East 17th Terrace.
"We're not asking for anyone to do us a favor," Service said. "We're just saying do for us what you do for every other community. And we'll help ourselves by doing things like opening businesses and trying to survive down here."
