Local business association says crime is so bad customers, employees scared to come to their stores

ATLANTA — Channel 2 Action News gets real about crime. One business community in northwest Atlanta says they have an action plan to fight crime, but they need help.

They talked to Channel 2′s Dave Huddleston about what needs to happen.

The business association says recent shootings and car break-ins have gotten so bad, people don’t want to shop and eat in the area. They say the city is trying to help, but they really need the help of their corporate partners.

The president of the MLK ASHBY Business Association said, “I’ve tried to reach out to all of them, but they don’t respond to me at all. How many people gotta die here?”

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Johnny Mims is president of the business association on MLK Jr. Drive in northwest Atlanta. He said business owners are going under because crime has gotten so bad.

“He’s (a business owner) losing customers. They’re calling in and cancelling because of the killings and shootings, and one of the things happened right in front of his place. A guy found dead behind the barbecue place, a guy found shot in front of the Kentucky Fried Chicken.”

There’s a Chick-fil-A that takes up a good portion of the block, but Mims said just a couple of days ago in October, a man was shot and killed in the middle of the street. “When is enough enough?” he asked.

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He said city leaders are working with the association to fight crime. They recently had a community clean-up of the area, and the police department told me they have repositioned cameras in the area.

There’s more police presence in the evenings, and the councilman who represents this area is pushing a safety plan that included off-duty officers to walk the beat. But that comes at a cost: $342,000.

Mims says they hope they can get support from corporations that have businesses in the area, but he says so far, they’ve heard nothing.

“This is Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. This is where he is from. We should be the beacon and the example.”

The owner of this Chick-fil-A said someone would be happy to assist with the story, but so far Huddleston hasn’t heard back.

Philip Davis works in the area and said crime is everywhere.

“I believe the factors that are involved in this recent crime spike is the fact that economics are on the rise everywhere.”

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