Several complaints have been filed with the city about homeless people lingering around businesses along 50th Street from Avenue Q to University Avenue. They said they see homeless people around their shops often.
“Our owner tells them that we can’t have them in here if they don’t shop or anything. So they try their best to shop,” said Vanessa Williamson, who works near 50th and Avenue Q. “They get used to it too much, so we just have to keep an eye on them. But once they start harassing the customers for money, we just have to kick them out and eventually they think it’s OK to come back.”
Sometimes it’s not only the homeless hanging around the stores. Wes Williamson works in the area, too, and he said he sees a mixture of suspicious people.
“You’ll see more of the bad type of people, I guess. You know, I don’t want to be specific, but drug dealers and kind of some of the weird ones you don’t want to mess with. Not bad. Just every once in a while,” said Wes.
He’s typically never bothered by the homeless around the shopping center. He said he’s only had to kick someone out of his store once, and he’s been working there for 18 years.
“Most of the ones that come around, we just tell them, ‘You’re OK hanging out here,’ but if they’re asking for money or bothering customers, then they leave. It doesn’t happen very often,” said Wes.
But Vanessa said their shop has a harder time keeping the homeless out.
“They attract more people to come, so it gets more difficult to keep them out of here,” said Vanessa.
She said they’ve even had to call police because sometimes they’ll cause a scene and make customers feel uncomfortable.
Wes said the shops near Avenue Q and 50th Street recently got security, and he think it’s gotten better because of it.
