Chinatown-ID Seattle business owners call out city leaders, demand action to stop crime

SEATTLE — Frustrated and fed up, several small businesses in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District are calling out city leaders.

They want something done, right now about out-of-control crime in hotspots like 12th and Jackson.

Mayor Bruce Harrell said he knows people are frustrated. He said people have a right to be.

But many small business owners in Little Saigon and Chinatown-International District said they need action and they need it now before someone else gets hurt.

“Right now, we have to take care of the everyday citizen," said said Yenvy Pham, who owns Pho Bac Sup Shop on South Jackson Street in Seattle’s Little Saigon neighborhood. "No one feels safe. My coworkers don’t feel safe. I don’t feel safe."

"It's just a block away from the corner of 12th and Jackson--- a notorious spot known for illegal activity including drugs, stolen merchandise and as well as shootings.

“The black market at 12th and Jackson is expanding and growing every day,” Pham said.

Pham shared this video of a threatening man in front of her business Monday.

“He had a really long knife--kind of like a machete," Pham said. "He was using the reflection of the window to scratch himself."

Furious and frustrated, she blasted the city and the mayor on Instagram.

“We shouldn’t have to spend so much time and energy trying to defend ourselves and trying to feel safe,” Pham said.

KOMO News took her criticisms and questions directly to Mayor Bruce Harrell Wednesday.

We asked him this: "Yenvy Pham in CID and Little Saigon is really concerned about what’s happening at 12th and Jackson. She wants to know why the city is allowing this to continue, and what your plan to stop it?”

“She should be frustrated,” Harrell said. “There’s not a simple button to push to make sure all the illicit activity will be gone. However, what we’re looking at are sustainable solutions. So, she will see here in a matter of a few weeks, not only a plan but an implementation of a plan.”

I-Miun Liu, the owner of Oasis Tea Zone in Chinatown-International District said the city and city leaders are all talk and no action right now.

“There’s been no improvement," Liu said. "There’s endless meetings. But what metrics are they going to consider?”

Liu is so frustrated; he’s hired a bouncer/door man for his bubble tea shop for Friday and Saturday nights to keep his customers and staff safe.

“People are actually getting shot," Liu said. "They are actually getting killed. How much longer can you wait for progress."

Harrell said he'll lay out a specific plan next Tuesday. He said his State of the City will have details on how the city will curb crime in places like 12th and Jackson.