THE TKC SUNDAY SPECIAL!!! KANSAS CITY COUNTRY CLUB PLAZA ON THE BRINK!!! CELEBRATE SPRING FLASH MOB SEASON!!!

Like it or not and despite any particular political worldview, the Plaza was swamped with unattended, rambunctious teenagers and young adults last night.

And yes, the unattended teenagers (and some young adults) in question were predominantly African-Americans gathered in groups of about a half-dozen up to around twenty. They were mostly loitering, blocking sidewalks and acting like typical stupid teenagers out with friends but non-violent for the most part.

Watching the scene for more than an hour tonight, one conclusion was clear . . .

CREDIT TO THE KCPD FOR KEEPING THE PEACE ON THE PLAZA ON WHAT SEEMED LIKE A TENSE BUT MOSTLY UNEVENTFUL SPRING NIGHT!!!

There was a cop on just about every block and judging by body language and a few quick conversations with patrons - The massive police presence was certainly appreciated.

Near the Plaza Theater a female KCPD Officer was directing pedestrian traffic and using a bullhorn brought from home. She seemed a bit suspicious when I started taking pix but I was glad to hear that she read the blog and "sometimes" even liked it. I was really just amazed with her crowd control skill. She offered the perfect "polite but stern" commands to the crowd and urged youngsters to keep moving.

"I brought the megaphone from my house," she said, surprising TKC that it wasn't department issue. "My throat is killing me and I'm pretty close to losing my voice."



Throughout the evening it seemed like a game of "cat and mouse" betwixt the KCPD and groups of roving, local youth. Police would clear out loiterers from one corner of Kansas City's County Club Plaza and they would quickly gather in another section of the party district.

I ran into a friend and he said KCPD is already expressing interest in moving up the Kansas City party district curfew another hour. At a glance it was clear to see that bands of angst-y youth weren't buying anything, they were not there to see a movie and mostly served to drive away customers. On the bright side, Zócalo was packed with the beautiful people and the place really is the hot spot for all the hipsters and cool kids on the Plaza willing to pay 12 bucks for tacos.

But I digress . . .

Watching the Kansas City County Club Plaza exercise in crowd control and politics, only one question came to mind:

HOW LONG CAN THE PLAZA ENDURE AN OVERWHELMING POLICE PRESENCE AND SO MANY LARGE GROUPS OF UNATTENDED YOUNG PEOPLE LOITERING AROUND THE DISTRICT?

Again, at the risk of sounding like a geezer . . . It was frustrating to notice that there weren't any Moms, Dads or Grandparents in sight despite so many damn kids.

Also . . . Here's a fact that should complicate things even further . . . A lot of these folks were over 18 and they're adults loitering in the company of kids on the Plaza. WTF?

TKC purchased a couple of cups of iced coffee from Starbucks just to boost my self-esteem/caffeine level and stand out from the crowd that was mostly useless from a consumer perspective.

And yes, longtime residents will remember that a similar loitering issue is the same way that Bannister Mall was destroyed and is now nothing more than a hole in the ground where a vibrant consumer mecca once existed.



In the final analysis, I'm just not convinced that a police crackdown, bullhorns and patrols on every block is going to work in the long run. Once again this Spring it's clear that the Plaza is on the brink of losing it's place as Kansas City's signature shopping and entertainment district.

Later on in the evening, a friend texted and told me KCPD used pepper spray in order to disperse a group of youngsters who then scattered into the street. Rest assured that this isn't the only incident that went down last night.

Furthermore . . .

Let's be real, the scene on the Plaza among groups of prom kids, young (unattended) African-American teenagers, yuppies, silver-haired 4-star diners and rubes from Belton visiting the big city is really just a tension filled hot mess waiting to happen. Last night wasn't a "celebration of diversity" on Kansas City's Country Club Plaza . . . It was nothing more than tense crowd control and violent flash mob prevention.

Mayor Sly promised more activities for urban youth but clearly loitering and blocking sidewalk traffic on the Plaza is what's hot in the street right now or at least more captivating than anything the Parks Department can put together.

Meanwhile, white, middle-class visitors to the Plaza seemed scared despite a mostly uneventful evening that was still tense, frustrating for many and a sign of more trouble ahead.

DEVELOPING . . .