Owner says drug deals, indecent exposure happening outside 3rd Avenue business – KIRO 7 News Seattle

SEATTLE – The owner of a downtown Seattle restaurant said her staff saw crimes right outside her window within hours of opening.

Monday was the reopening day for Piroshky, Piroshky on Third Avenue, which had been closed for several months due to the pandemic.

But the owner got so tired of the conditions her employees were exposed to in the first three hours that she sent out a tweet.

She also said her complaints fell on deaf ears.

She said it was too dangerous to do business there. And she insisted that her grievances be ignored, especially by the councilor representing that neighborhood.

This was supposed to be the big reopening of Piroshky, Piroshky in the heart of downtown Seattle after it had closed since March.

But the owner of this Russian sandwich shop said the reopening on Third Avenue paused her.

“We had little nervous butterflies in our stomach, what it will look like,” said Olga Sagan. “What do we have to deal with today?”

They said they came across the following: A street littered with trash and worse.

“We saw drug deals,” Sagan said. “We saw how people exposed themselves. And there was a stalemate between the police and a man holding a knife. Exactly here.”

And that in the first three hours.

But the problems go beyond ThirdAvenue. The owner of Taste of Asia said those hanging around here often rob him.

“You put a portion of food on your plate,” said Robert Hyun. “You have no money to pay. You just sit around. Security has to come and chase them away. It gave us quite a (big) headache. “

Worse still, they said their questions about how the city is helping the small businesses here went unanswered.

“Councilor Lewis, Andrew Lewis, several times,” Sagan said when asked who she asked her questions to. “Tried several times to talk to him. The mayor, of course. Yes. Still to hear from them. “

Lewis said he met regularly with Third Avenue business owners.

“I’m just going to tell Olga this message,” said Lewis. “I’m definitely looking forward to meeting you.”

He said the city was working on a new program, JustCare. The agency recently dismantled a homeless camp on Third Avenue and sheltered more than 30 people.

“You know, I’m very impatient to get this done,” said Lewis. “But it is important to know that things are going in the right direction. We have proven what these people can do with JustCare. And they get the resources to scale so that they can expand their impact. “

In fact, he said, the city is allocating millions more to efforts to remove the camps, not just here in the city center but across the city.

He said the changes won’t happen overnight.

But he insisted that a change take place.

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