‘It’s a trashy city’: Local business concerned with upkeep of downtown Charleston
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‘It’s a trashy city’: Local business concerned with upkeep of downtown Charleston
Bubbies Cookies and Treats Owner, Harris Cohen, has taken photos and videos for years of his concerns, some taken just within the last week. Cohen said another issue he sees daily is bicyclists crowding the sidewalks, almost running into people. The Executive Director of King Street BID, Amy Barrett, said the city’s central business district sees, on average, over 30,000 pedestrians in a day. She said it can be difficult to enforce regulations without 24/7 monitoring without police officers on the street 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. The city is ranked as the number one city to visit in the South, but Cohen has concerns with the locals who live in the Lowcountry all year round. He said he hopes there is more enforcement of rules and laws that could come from the city and the whole city for the sake of his business and the city as a whole for the whole sake of the whole. He is asking for something to be done.
Bubbies Cookies and Treats Owner, Harris Cohen, has taken photos and videos for years of his concerns, some taken just within the last week.
The photos and videos showed graffiti, litter that hasn’t been picked up, and even someone urinating in a parking lot right next to his business in the middle of the day.
“Yes, parking is a problem, traffic’s a problem, but what the comments that I hear in my store in Mount Pleasant is ‘I don’t feel safe downtown.’ As an example, at 12:53 p.m. in the parking lot right beside us, somebody is urinating right there. This is what we put up with all the time,” he said.
As Charleston continues to be ranked as the number one city to visit in the South, he has concerns with the locals who live in the Lowcountry all year round. Cohen is asking for something to be done.
“It’s just general lawlessness down here, with one of the problems being not enough policemen down here,” he said.
Cohen said another issue he sees daily is bicyclists crowding the sidewalks, almost running into people. Cohen spoke with Live 5 in early 2024 about this issue. According to city ordinances, it is illegal for people to ride bicycles on sidewalks.
“Don’t forget that they banned sampling on the sidewalks or even in the alcoves because they thought people were crowding on the sidewalks and walking into the street. But yet, they don’t do anything about the bicycle riding on these same narrow streets. And it’s adults, it’s kids, and somebody’s going to get hurt,” Cohen said.
Some businesses on King Street say they have seen an improvement over the last year or so with the city’s King Street Business Improvement District, but they’re also not blind to the idea that there’s still more to be done.
The Executive Director of King Street BID, Amy Barrett, said the city’s central business district sees, on average, over 30,000 pedestrians in a day.
“That’s an incredible number that we are lucky to have, but it also means that that’s a varied number of varied guests that come and visit our beautiful street,” she said. “And so not everybody is well behaved, and we end up picking up a lot after a lot of people, so it’s a constant challenge. I am confident that we’re staying on top of it,” Barrett said.
She said that because the street itself is very narrow with parking on both sides, it is a challenge to stop those who bike on sidewalks and don’t follow the law.
“We try and contain that as much as possible. But it’s really in terms of priority for the Charleston Police Department, which really has jurisdiction over that,” Barrett said.
In regard to the trash and other ambassador duties, it can be difficult to enforce regulations without 24/7 monitoring.
“We’re up and down the street all day long from 7 a.m. until 5 p.m., and then we also have nighttime ambassadors on the weekends, too, like when the entire environment changes,” Barrett said.
However, Cohen has a different experience.
“I pay a high property tax, I pay a sales tax, I pay a hospitality tax, and now I’ve got to pay the business improvement tax also, and it’s still trashy out here. Charleston, unfortunately, is a trashy city right now,” Cohen said.
Another issue Cohen has seen is the response time to getting rid of graffiti.
“Here we are on King Street, and it’s just a general lawlessness where there is graffiti that was up over two months,” he said.
Barrett said that when it comes to graffiti on certain property, it can be a challenging process.
“We hate to see graffiti at all, regardless of whether it’s artistic or not, and certainly if it’s offensive. We want it gone as soon as possible. But we are fairly limited in what we can do on private property,” she said.
Cohen said he hopes there is enforcement of rules and laws that could come from more police presence for the sake of his business and the city as a whole.
“I think Mayor Cogswell has some good ideas, but they are grand slam ideas far into the future, while not taking care of the problems right here right now, as City Councilman Ross Appel said, ‘So goes King Street, goes Charleston,’” Cohen said.
As Charleston continues to grow, Barrett said it is a challenge to keep up with the growth at this rate, but they want to prioritize their businesses and storefronts that hold the city’s value.
“I think we’re doing a pretty good job. It’s never perfect. It’s always evolving,” Barrett said.
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