Kansas City Small Biz 'Frustrated' With Property Crime & 12th & Oak Response

The newspaper covers a familiar topic that offers more well deserved criticism of City Hall along with another glimpse at familiar challenges confronting the cowtown economy . . . Check-it:

"The owner of Brewer’s Kitchen and Corner found the universal signature of a break-in: broken glass. His space, including thousands of dollars worth of liquor and other items, were still exposed to the world. He found someone had stolen a safe containing about $3,000 . . .

"Since then, Riggins has wrangled with insurance, the frustration of working through the city’s Back to Business program, which city officials launched last month offering funds for businesses affected by property crime, as well as the feelings of loneliness and vulnerability that swelled in him following the incident."

Alternate perspective . . .

"The frustration comes as Kansas City police say property crime is actually down by 3% compared to last year at this time. “We’ve stepped up a lot of enforcement to address some of the property crimes issues in Kansas City and that’s been all across our city, there’s not one specific space,” Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves told members of the media following a roundtable discussion on public safety with leaders of community improvement districts (CIDs) in the city. A CID is a special local entity that can levy taxes to pay for improvements."

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

'This is infuriating': Frustration sets in over small business break-ins in Kansas City

The frustration from business owners comes as Kansas City police say property crime is actually down by 3% compared to this time last year.