Meeting at the 3000 C Street Building on Thursday, the Midtown Community Council passed a resolution that urges Mayor Dave Bronson’s administration, the Anchorage Assembly, and the Anchorage Police Department to take action on getting Midtown’s crime and homeless crisis under control.“This is a small problem compared to what you have in San Francisco, but there was a small problem in San Francisco four years ago,” business owner Joe Fang said.
Before passing the resolution Midtown business owners told their personal stories of how vandalism, theft, assault, and drug crimes are affecting the neighborhood. Midtown Community Council president Kris Stoehner added, “I do not go on this property anymore without an escort. It’s not safe.” Additionally, the resolution calls for short-term and long-term solutions to the ongoing homeless crisis in the municipality — and to take sensible steps to provide a safe, low barrier shelter capable of accommodating several hundred individuals.