A group of 70 businesses have come together to pen a letter in which they urge D.C. lawmakers to do more to curb crime in the city’s downtown.
“I think we found that there was a growing level of frustration by many of us that government leaders needed to do more to protect the communities across the city,” said Drew Maloney, president and CEO of the American Investment Council.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Broadcasters are among the organizations that signed onto the letter.
Maloney, whose office is in the Gallery Place neighborhood, spearheaded the effort. It comes after a spike over the last couple years of violent crimes in the downtown region, including the death of former D.C. Board of Elections member Mike Gill during an attempted carjacking.
Maloney said not only was Gill his close friend but he was also well liked in the downtown business community.
“So, it was a very easy task to get everybody to come together around this issue,” he said.
The letter sent to Mayor Muriel Bowser and all the members of city council called on city leaders to bring an end to the “horrifying acts of violence” being seen in the city.
In 2023, D.C. saw a record-setting 39% spike in violent crime, with 274 homicides during the year. As of Feb. 29, violent crime is down in the city by 11% compared to this time last year.
Despite the slight decline, Maloney said employees of the organizations remain “fearful” to venture out of their offices.
“Many of the employees look around and they’re becoming more scared about what they’re going to encounter when they either come to work, leave work, go out for lunch,” he said.
The letter calls for more to be done to target “the small group of organized and repeat criminals” that city leaders have said are behind a majority of crimes.
Maloney, a longtime resident of D.C., said it’s been hard to see the “rather safe and prosperous” city lose that edge.
“I think now is the time to try to get that back and make sure people feel safe and comfortable coming downtown to go to work, concerts [or] dinner,” he said.
Maloney said crime also has business leaders considering if they should keep their offices in downtown D.C.
“There’s a lot of interest in trying to relocate and find places where everybody’s employees feel safe,” Maloney said.
He also expected Maryland and Virginia to try and lure businesses and trade associations out of the nation’s capital.
“This is the alarm bell for the city leaders to step up and do as much as they can to remind the citizens in every ward across the city, that safety and security is a number one issue,” he said.
WTOP has reached out to the mayor’s office for comment.
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