D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said Monday a new public safety outpost in Chinatown will bring together police, drug abuse counselors and homeless services in hopes of suppressing the crime and disorder that have plagued the downtown neighborhood.
Ms. Bowser said the new Safe Commercial Corridor Hub at 675 H Street Northwest is part of a “whole of government” approach to addressing the hostile vagrants, thefts and bloodshed that have been a nagging issue in the District’s core since the pandemic.
“We not only want people to be safe, but feel safe,” the mayor said during a Monday press conference. “If people are engaging in criminal activity, we know as a community we have sent the clear message that they will be held accountable. If people need mental or behavioral health care, we also have teams that can intervene to help them there, too.”
The announcement comes a day after a security guard opened fire on an armed robber at the Walgreens in Chinatown.
Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith said a man entered the store Sunday and stole a security guard’s firearm.
The guard was being held at gunpoint when a second guard emerged from the store’s back room and shot the robber, the chief said.
Chief Smith said the suspect was taken to the hospital with critical injuries.
She also said the suspect has been charged in connection to seven robberies at the same Walgreens. The man hasn’t been identified.
Police previously reported a December robbery at Walgreens that was similar to Sunday’s incident: a man stole a guard’s gun and held up store employees for $5,000 in cash.
Authorities didn’t say if Sunday’s robbery suspect was the same man from December’s stick-up.
Chief Smith said she anticipates more arrests in connection to the robberies at the Chinatown Walgreens.
Violent crime has fallen citywide, including downtown, so far this year.
But chaotic episodes — such as last month’s deadly carjacking rampage that started with the slaying of a former Trump administration official near Mount Vernon Square — have been enough to discourage some suburbanites from venturing into the city.
Chief Smith said she first approached Ms. Bowser late last year about creating a police substation in Chinatown to improve officer visibility in the neighborhood.
Ms. Bowser suggested combining the greater police presence with outreach workers, the chief said, who could then tackle the quality of life issues evident in the area.
Open drug deals and substance use grew more common in the city center when office workers were sent home after the arrival of COVID-19.
With the federal government still not requiring employees to return to their downtown offices, vagrants have filled the space with their own illicit activities.
Ms. Bowser said the new safety hub will give the Department of Behavioral Health and the Department of Human Services a concentrated area to reach people most affected by drug abuse and homelessness.
The mayor has made revitalizing downtown a top priority since business magnate Ted Leonsis announced his plan to relocate the NBA’s Wizards and NHL’s Capitals to the Virginia suburbs.
In the two months since Mr. Leonsis said he was moving both franchises to Alexandria by 2028, Ms. Bowser has set up a task force to improve Gallery Place and Chinatown, offered millions of dollars in grants to downtown businesses and has now unveiled the new public safety hub.
The mayor also penned an op-ed in the Washington Post last week that said she was going to enforce the ground lease requiring Monumental Sports and Entertainment, Mr. Leonsis’ company that owns both teams, to keep the franchises in the District through 2047.
Monumental Sports responded in a statement Sunday saying it has a right to “pay off the bond in 2027” and end the contract early. “[Monumental] plans to exercise that right.”
Ms. Bowser wouldn’t delve into the legal strategy for enforcing that lease on Monday, but did say she will treat it as any other contract that’s broken with the city.
“I expect that we are going to go through any agreement that we have to make sure that D.C. taxpayers are protected, and this case is no different,” Ms. Bowser said.
The mayor added that Capital One Arena has been a lucrative site for Monumental, with strong revenues generated from concerts, boxing fights and both the Wizards and Capitals in 2023.
“Monumental Sports is doing just fine here,” Ms. Bowser said. “That’s not to say that they don’t have legitimate concerns and a legitimate expectation that we address those concerns.”
It was reported last year that Mr. Leonsis was unhappy with the scene around Capital One Arena. He hired a slew of off-duty police officers to work security outside the facility in response to those concerns.
But Mr. Leonsis’ plan to construct a sprawling entertainment and sports complex in Potomac Yard hit a major snag Monday in the Virginia General Assembly.
State Sen. L. Louise Lucas, a Democrat who chairs the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee, said she wouldn’t hold a hearing on a bill allowing the arena deal to move forward.
Ms. Lucas said she essentially killed the proposal because it would leave state taxpayers on the hook if the arena’s expected revenues to cover couldn’t construction expenses.
Virginia proposed investing $1.4 billion in the deal, while Monumental was ponying up $400 million in the project.
A House version of the same bill was approved by its committee in a vote Friday.
• Staff writer Liam Griffin contributed to this article.
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.
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