CINCINNATI (WKRC) – The rooftop of Katie Garber’s Main Street property offers breathtaking views of Over-the-Rhine.
This week, a new tenant will move in. Garber feels safe where Main Street meets Liberty Street—but only up to a point.
“I do have to caution people from going too far up McMicken. That’s where we’ve had shootings,” Garber said.
One of the most recent victims was a 16-year-old boy killed near Walnut and McMicken in September.
“It’s hard, you know. I want everyone to feel safe in the neighborhood that they live in and not feel like it has to only be safe in one part and not safe in this other part,” Garber said.
Garber and others feel like something shifted this year.
“There were more shootings on Walnut this spring and summer. I was waking up and hearing 20 rounds at a time,” said Garber.
Violence, increasingly involving teenagers, has her on edge. Car break-ins have pushed some tenants out. Crime is also impacting other property owners on the street where she’s set to invest $2 million.
“[She] had to lower the rents to get people to live there,” Garber said of another property owner. “She’s had some people move in and move out.”
Garber owns two properties on Walnut Street north of Liberty and south of McMicken. She says, pending permits and inspections, they’re ready to start work—but the holdup is the lack of a plan for safety in OTR. This week, she took her concerns to Cincinnati City Council.
“As of right now, I would not be able to tell future tenants that they would be safe living on Walnut Street,” said Garber.
“Your concerns are definitely being heard,” Council Member Scotty Johnson said.
“Captain Doug Schneider did call me that afternoon, which was really nice and unexpected,” said Garber.
While she felt heard, she also can’t help but feel a disconnect.
“It’s kind of like a little bit of a handoff—‘Hey, we can only do so much; it’s up to the police,’ or ‘We can only do so much; it’s up to Cincinnati City Council to change laws,’” Garber said. “I think there could be more coordination between Cincinnati City Council, City Hall, and the police to really, really look at this high-crime area.”
As the city encourages development in the north part of OTR, she wants change to make the investment worth the risk.
“I know that it would take huge systemic change to change all of the problems, and there’s only so much that Cincinnati City Council or the police could do,” said Garber. “But I want someone to have a plan, to say, ‘Here’s how we’re going to make your neighborhood safe.’”
Garber has her own ideas that she thinks could help improve safety. She suggests a loitering law, revoking the liquor license at the Shell gas station on Liberty, and a bigger push for safe gun storage, particularly in vehicles.
link
