Fells Point business owners find progress after meeting with leaders on crime – WBAL Radio

Saturday, June 19, 2021Tre Ward, WBAL-TV

Business owners and residents in southeast Baltimore are remaining vigilant against crime while going into the weekend.

It comes on the heels of recent gun violence near Broadway Square in Fells Point.

On Friday, business owners met with city officials to address their concerns, calling it a great start to finding solutions.

The violence that happened in Fells Point for two straight weekends continues to linger over residents and business owners near Broadway Square.

"Those of us who are fortunate to live here -- as I said, we welcome everyone. We want there to be enforcement of public statutes that ensure public safety," said Peter Bodi, president of Fells Point Residents Association.

Those who live and work in the area sat down with city officials on Friday, raising concerns about possible violence in Fells Point and what needs to happen to ensure safety.

"I feel that, although the meeting was only an hour long, I think that we made tremendous progress towards making sure that our issues were at the very least heard," Su Casa owner Nick Johnson said.

The business owners' fight for peace comes after a group of them threatened to withhold property taxes from the city.

Now, following Friday's meeting, business leaders in southeast Baltimore said they feel encouraged about a continued partnership with the city.

"This is not the first conversation we've had, but this was a real important conversation because all the stakeholders were on board, working together," City Councilman Zeke Cohen said.

But owners said the issue of gun violence isn't isolated to just the neighborhood of Fells Point.

"The issues that are affecting Fells Point right now are citywide issues, and one of the focuses of this meeting we just wrapped up is that this needs to be a process and a framework put into place so that other communities don't have to go to the lengths that we did to get the attention of the city, and really work toward finding solutions that are affecting every part of the city," Johnson said.

Police are continuing to search for the suspects in last weekend's shooting.

Owners said there will be more meetings with the city to come.

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Fells Point business owners find progress after meeting with leaders on crime - WBAL Radio