Another black man was shot and killed in Syracuse this past weekend. According to reports, Tavorn Hunter, 27, was in an altercation outside the Middle East Market when a gun went off, ending the life of a young man that people describe as an artist and businessman.
“Close it down” was a comment from a neighbor of the store, “it’s just a hangout.” Others are absolute and precision sharp with their reaction, “That’s why I don’t go to those corner stores”.
Some corner stores permit a certain amount of loitering that most businesses wouldn’t allow. In the immediate area surrounding some of these stores you’ll see little residential activity. Who wants to live in close proximity to their local corner store?
For years the A-Shack Market looked like a great big raggedy shack. It wasn’t until countless nuisance calls that the store was finally closed. In the meantime at least 10 houses went abandoned.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, it’s time to get rid of some of our corner stores. If the city of Syracuse can use eminent domain in the construction of a mall or a creek walk then why not use the same legal tool to better manage our poorer communities?
We receive millions of dollars in Community Development block frants that can be used for demolition, economic development, housing rehabilitation. The list goes on.
I contend that these shootings and other activities are caused by the decades-long abuse of our block grant funding.
We wouldn’t need surveillance cameras if so-called “social justice” were applied to our Community Development funding activities.
If policy makers really cared about the community they’d simply use eminent domain to shut down some of these stores and restore residential quality of life to our neighborhoods.
Instead of waiting until a store ruins an entire block, the city of Syracuse could be more proactive in developing urban policies that discourage this kind of development.
We’re spending millions to relocate poor bus riders from the South Salina and Fayette Street Common Center to an enclosed shelter.
We’ve gone out of our way in the development of major projects in this city using the power of eminent domain to acquire properties using the caveat “economic development for the good of the entire community.”
But when it comes to the urban black and poor communities it’s clear that these stores in all their glory will continue to survive and thrive. Unfortunately these stores become the final destination for many of our young black men.
The city should use its power of eminent domain to close down a dozen of these stores pay the owners to leave…go… take your cigarette “loosies,” blunts, white T-shirts, two-foot long hair extensions hanging from the ceiling, Old English 800 malt liquor, fried chicken wings and move somewhere else. Anywhere but here.
