![]() The talent pool also attracted companies like Google, Meta and Apple Inc., and local venture capitalists shored up fields like cloud computing and artificial intelligence.Īmazon said in a statement that it’s hopeful it will be able to bring back workers when it’s safer. Amazon has done the same, and pioneered the idea of an attractive urban campus with a vibrant bar and restaurant scene. While Microsoft has always been in the suburbs, the population of engineers and millionaires it created have helped build a vital startup scene. tech hub outside of the Bay Area, boasting two of the five biggest tech companies by market cap, Amazon and Microsoft Corp. Statistics for 2021 have not yet been released. Nationwide, the overall violent crime rate was up 5.6% and property crimes were up 8% in 2020. 21, there have been at least three shootings, two stabbings and one carjacking in the area, according to information from the Seattle Police Department’s Twitter account.Ĭitywide, the rate of violent crime last year was the highest it had been in data going back to 2008. But the issue has been particularly acute in recent weeks. Seattle cops and politicians have referred to the crime-prone area as an “open-air drug market” for years, and there have been previous campaigns to arrest dealers and clean up the streets. It’s a quandary facing other mayors, too - Citadel founder Ken Griffin said his firm’s future in Chicago may be counted in years, not decades, if officials don’t get a handle on crime, while San Francisco is struggling with safety concerns and one of the lowest return-to-office rates of major cities. , which have large presences in Seattle neighborhoods near downtown, are expanding in Bellevue. Companies can move there and still recruit from the same engineering talent pool that makes Seattle an attractive home base. Seattle faces competition from nearby suburbs like Bellevue that have lower crime rates. ![]() Whether Harrell and other mayors facing such challenges succeed could dictate whether urban centers that had been flourishing before the pandemic can regain their luster for employers, residents and tourists. Similar factors led New York City to elect Eric Adams and his tough-on-crime platform. Swept into office on a law-and-order platform that also pledged to stem rising homelessness, crime has instead worsened downtown and the area’s post-Covid rebound is lagging behind other parts of the city. It’s the first big test for Seattle’s new mayor, Bruce Harrell, who has taken steps to address the issues but faces an impatient voter base. Other startups in the area aren’t sure they’ll stay. Amazon has its own private security and the area has seen an influx of police officers in the past several weeks, yet workers and managers expressed concerns about safety. ![]() temporarily shuttered an office in the area, telling 1,800 employees to work from other locations. The area has always blended tech startups with a seedier element, but as the city and businesses try to get foot traffic to return, downtown offices are bulking up on private security and stores are fashioning homemade door barriers to protect against street crime.Īt least one occupant voted with its feet after violent crime last year reached a 13-year high: Inc. ![]() In a several-block area of the city’s commercial district steps from the Pike Place Market, where tourists visit the original Starbucks and gather to watch vendors sling salmon, a spate of shootings and stabbings has led police to deploy a mobile precinct amid an outcry from residents and businesses. At a crime-ridden intersection in downtown Seattle, Amazon workers are moving out and the cops are moving in. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |