In the wake of a high-profile shooting near the newly renovated Hemisfair District and a rise in complaints from residents and business owners, District 1’s councilwoman came up with what seemed like a simple fix: Remove Hemisfair from the downtown public spaces exempt from the city’s 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. park curfew.
But last Thursday’s scuttled vote to approve the idea suggested city leaders are nowhere close to agreeing on how to address downtown’s public safety concerns.
The discussion erupted into one of council’s most passionate debates of the year, dividing members over who law enforcement is supposed to protect and what it means to feel safe in a public space.
The ordinance crafted by Councilwoman Sukh Kaur would have allowed people in the park after hours to be cited with a Class C Misdemeanor, which carries a $500 fine.
To accommodate the Hemisfair district’s apartment complex and businesses, however, it said people could be excused for violating the curfew if they’re walking their dog or passing through the park to a destination in the area, including an open business, their hotel, place of residence or car.
“Folks came to us after a series of violent crimes that had occurred in the spring, and were asking for additional safety protocols for Hemisfair Park,” Kaur explained of her proposal.
But critics of the curfew said the carveouts opened the door for police to profile people based on who looks like they should or shouldn’t be in the park after hours.
“The issue of discretion means that police choose when and how to enforce the curfew,” said Jalen McKee-Rodriguez (D2). “… An officer can see a little old lady and determine that she’s not a threat… but you see a young black man in a hoodie, doing the same thing, and they may feel compelled to make sure that he’s supposed to be there.”
The proposal was tabled indefinitely after Police Chief William McManus addressed the council, saying that his data indicates the park doesn’t have a public safety problem in the first place.
“The crime calls are very, very few,” he told the San Antonio Report in a July interview. “We even went outside of Hemisfair a certain distance and pulled those numbers, and the violent crime was not there.”
After nearly every council member chimed in with an opinion on Thursday, Mayor Ron Nirenberg concluded the proposal was “not ready for prime time.”
“This is clearly not a solution to the challenges that we’re trying to address,” Nirenberg said.
Open to new ideas
On Friday morning, some business owners around Hemisfair said they were disappointed to see their issue tabled, but were open to other possible solutions.
“If a curfew is not what the chief of police thinks will solve the concerns of the tenants and residents, I trust his judgment,” said Andres Andujar, CEO of Hemisfair, who was having coffee on the patio of Commonwealth Coffee.
Andujar said he hears from residents of the Hemisfair ’68 apartment complex about middle-of-the-night noise from mischief-makers on the nearby playscape and loud intoxicated visitors walking back to their hotels.
Maxim Lang, the manager of Commonwealth Coffee, said businesses are often calling police over petty crimes and vagrancy, and often the police don’t arrive in a timely way. He suggested more foot patrols to speed up response times.
But if Thursday’s meeting was any indication, city council members have a lot of work when it comes to addressing the growing urban neighborhood’s concerns.
And downtown will only continue to expand under plans for new builds, overdue historic renovations and infrastructure upgrades, a new baseball stadium and potentially a Spurs arena in the works.
The city has already increased police patrol and lighting in the Hemisfair area, and some council members say Hemisfair Park is already getting substantially more attention than other parts of the city.
“The East Side’s perception is that they haven’t felt safe in their homes for many years, and we haven’t acted as quickly,” said Councilwoman Adriana Rocha Garcia (D4), who represents the city’s far southwest side.
Councilwoman Teri Castillo (D5), who represents the city’s near southwest side, said efforts to kick people out of the park at night would contribute to “further privatization of public spaces.”
Other parks that are exempt from the city’s park curfew include Alamo Plaza, Market Square, La Villita and part of the River Walk.
“My constituents oftentimes frequent Hemisfair Park, and they’re always asking about, ‘How can we replicate this in District 5?’ Because it is a safe park. It is a desirable park,” Castillo said.
