A Seattle bakery owner has slammed city leaders after she says she was forced to close her shop due to the record-breaking high levels of crime.
Piroshky Piroshky bakery owner Olga Sagan, 38, made the tough decision after she constantly found the entrance blocked with drug users who refused to move – and she says the Seattle Police Department did nothing to help.
The last straw was when a man was shot dead just round the corner from the city center bakery.
‘How many shootings do we need to have to realize this is an active emergency in downtown Seattle?’ Sagan told The Seattle Times.
‘The streets of downtown have been abandoned by government,’ she added, ‘and handed over to criminal activity.’
She added that she was trying to find jobs for her store’s employees at other local businesses and that she will reopen her business when its is safe.
Piroshky Piroshky bakery has offered hand-crafted traditional Russian pastries in the area since 1992, the newspaper reported.
The owner of Piroshky Piroshky, 38-year-old Olga Sagan (pictured), said that she is tired of the excessive crime and drug use in the area
Seattle’s popular Piroshky Piroshky Bakery (pictured) is closing its Third Avenue location in downtown until further notice over safety concerns
The bakery, which has been open since 1992, is a store that serves traditional Russian pastries
The shop’s closures comes after Sagan announced on social media that violence is a ‘major emergency and instead of approaching this as such – all politicians do is just talk’. In another post, she said that she has run out of patience and is prioritizing the safety of her employees.
Seattle’s Democratic Mayor Bruce Harrell said in a statement that he is working with local law enforcement agencies to address problems stemming from local violence, acknowledging that he needs to take safety-first measures to make residents feel secure in the city.
‘The mayor is continuing to advocate for hiring additional SPD officers so that there are adequate staff resources to respond to public safety emergencies, bolster police presence in locations where crime is prevalent, and help reset norms downtown and citywide,’ Harrell’s office said.
‘Further, he is driving efforts specifically to prevent gun violence, including through community-based programs, regional coordination, and other innovative solutions,’ it added.
‘Officers and Seattle Fire Department medics both attempted lifesaving measures but the man was declared deceased at the scene,’ SPD detective Valerie Carson said.
Sagan has been active on social media over her threats to close down her highly-popular bakery as she advocates for the wellness of her employees above all. Pictured: A Facebook post shared by Sagan on her shop’s closure along with the caption: ‘We have run out of patience. Putting our employees’ safety 1st. Street been taken over by criminal activity.’
Earlier in February, Sagan hosted newly elected and Republican City Attorney Ann Davidson at her bakery, with Davidson pledging to charge and prosecute petty crimes, including misdemeanors, more quickly and in a responsive way.
However, Sagan has lost faith that things will turn around, the newspaper noted.
‘It feels safer, but still, it’s always drug use and people shouting at you whichever way you walk,’ Sagan said.
‘This is just too dangerous,’ Sagan added.
In its 2021 year-end report, Seattle Police said that violent crime in the city has increased by 20 percent compared to 2020- which is for the first time in 14 years.
According to SPD, shootings and shots fired calls increased 40 percent (+175) from 2020 to 2021, violent crime increased 20 percent and homeless-related shootings increased 122 percent.
Some reasons for homelessness Seattle have been attributed to the cost of living in the city having significantly risen in the past decade due to gentrification, lack of publicly owned affordable housing, and the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to the Department of Community and Human Services, 40, 800 people in King County experienced homelessness at some point in 2020. That number was 45,300 people for 2019.
The Seattle Police Department said in its end-of-the year report for 2021 that violent crime in the city has increased by 20 percent compared to 2020- a record-breaking high in 14 years. Pictured: An entrance to Bellevue Square Mall is seen after looking too place
A sign warns of murderers, drug users and rapists purportedly preying on residents of the so-called Capitol Hill Occupied Protest (CHOP) zone in Seattle
Meanwhile, during the first 21 days in January, which were Harrell’s first 21 days as Mayor, SPD had 23 felony arrests and 14 misdemeanor arrests at that intersection. There were also 24 recoveries of stolen property and 10 drug seizures.
The Seattle Fire Department is also changing its response strategy. In 2021, the department responded to 400 ‘scenes of violence’ calls involving gunfire, assault, or injuries among the homeless communities.
Starting this week, Fire Chief Harold Scoggins said firefighters are wearing ballistic vests and ballistic helmets as well as observing from at least four blocks away when they respond to a violent scene.
‘That’s a change,’ he said. ‘Oftentimes, we’ve ended up in places that are unsafe for our firefighters, where people have been assaulted, stabbings or shootings, so we are being very intentional on how we connect with the Seattle police department before we enter these scenes.’
