ORLANDO, Fla. – Staggering numbers from a new survey said a majority of people do not feel safe in downtown Orlando at night.
That’s according to a survey done by City District. Read the survey results here.
Wednesday, downtown Orlando bar owners and stakeholders packed a room at city hall to meet with city leaders and once again weigh in amid two proposed ordinances aimed at addressing safety downtown.
Bosko Lazic owns several bars on Wall Street and said it’s about working together.
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“The safety of our city, why should we have off-duty officers? Why not have on duty officers that are trained for the downtown entertainment district?” Lazic said.
The current ordinance calls for a six-month mortarium on new bars and clubs in downtown Orlando. It also requires a special use permit for any business wanting to sell alcohol after midnight. It includes associated costs for owners to help pay for off-duty officers to patrol the streets of downtown Orlando on weekends.
One of the biggest changes includes altering the occupancy/extra duty cops ratio, which the city said could reduce the costs for some businesses that will have to pay for off-duty officers to patrol the streets downtown.
Monica McCown is the vice president of Orlando Hospitality Alliance.
“When we’re working together, we can find ways to protect everybody without harming small businesses,” McCown said.
She said safety is key, but she doesn’t want small businesses to suffer.
“Ultimately, that’s the most important. We want our guests and visitors to feel really safe. We just want to make sure that paying for those officers is an appropriate cost and it’s split equitably among the people who are benefiting from it,” McCown said.
Orlando city commissioners will vote on these proposed ordinances on March 20.
City leaders said safety is their priority and focus, and Orlando will continue to dedicate funding and implement new programs to address these issues.
The city of Orlando sent News 6 this statement as a response about safety and the recent City District survey.
The city has been focused on both areas of safety and homelessness for several months and years, making significant investments to ensure our downtown is a thriving economic hub and a vibrant destination neighborhood for our residents and visitors to enjoy our world-class amenities and unique businesses that provide for a high quality of life, with safety an important component and key to this effort.
Related to downtown safety, most recently following the tragic shooting of veteran Joseph Torres in 2021, the city implemented several initiatives, including adding more code enforcement officers downtown, funding additional off-duty Orlando Police officers, launching the SAFE program, instituting a loudspeaker moratorium, launching controlled access points during large event nights and enhancing lighting throughout the core.
In 2022, we made additional changes, including the expansion of controlled access points to Friday and Saturday nights weekly, requiring the securing of private parking lots, making adjustments to our noise ordinance and requiring new late-night businesses to go through a process that requires them to have a safety plan.
In January 2023, the city took further action to enhance safety, particularly during the late night hours when we see violent crime double, including a proposed ordinance to pause the opening of new nightclubs for 6 months in the CRA and an ordinance that requires a permit for selling alcohol from 12 am to 2 am in the DEA. The 2nd read for these ordinances is set for March 20. Additionally, on January 23, we expanded the SAFE Program for businesses.
All of these efforts, in addition to the work of Orlando Police, are aimed at furthering safety downtown.
Regarding our efforts to address homelessness, the city launched Accelerate Orlando in 2022, which taken together represents the most significant investment in our city’s history to help care for those experiencing homelessness. Specifically, we are investing in Orlando’s trusted service providers, including the Christian Service Center, Salvation Army and Coalition for the Homeless, to modernize their campuses, offer more wrap-around services and grow daytime operations.
In 2023, the city launched its Rapid Rehousing Program with the use of RUSH HUD funds to immediately house between 20-30 people experiencing homelessness and increase street outreach, which started this week. As part of this, we've also helped establish a hub inside the Christian Service Center four days a week to offer critical services, such as obtaining an I.D., employment or addressing substance abuse or mental health concerns.
This city has also enhanced the Downtown Ambassador program by providing additional specialized training for each member working the service to help connect our most vulnerable individuals to critical social services and curb aggressive, unwanted panhandling.
While we’ve made great strides, we know there is more to do. As a city, this work on assisting the unsheltered and prioritizing safety downtown does not stop here. All of this work continues to be a priority and focus for the city. We will continue to implement new programs, dedicate funding and prioritize resources to further address these issues for our community.
City of Orlando
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