Residents and Businesses Call for Action From City Officials and Corporations to Improve Conditions at 23rd and Jackson

by Phil Manzano

Ericka Mac steeled herself when the teacher of her 2-year-old daughter's preschool class at A 4 Apple Learning Center unexpectedly called on the afternoon of Monday, Oct. 16.

"So, immediately hearing that someone was calling me at three o'clock in the day, on a normal day … my heart immediately dropped, because I'm like, 'Okay, why are you calling?'" Mac said.

"And she was like, 'Well, there was a drive-by that occurred.' So my mind is still racing, yes? And then she was like, 'But everybody's safe.' Once she got to that, you know, I was very much so relieved. And I felt better, much better about that."

But on Thursday, Oct. 19, anger and frustration spilled out at a gathering of teachers, early care educators, and parents in a parking lot across the street from the learning center where their children were forced to crawl for cover when shots rang out and struck their building near the corner of 23rd Avenue South and South Jackson Street.

They pleaded with City and County officials, corporate businesses, and the community at large to rally to support improvements to make the neighborhood safer. Residents say they've been reaching out for help for the past two years but they have not seen action.

"It should not have taken my child care to get a bullet. … Any one of my 24 students, myself, or three of my teachers could have possibly gotten shot," said Appollonia Washington, co-owner of A 4 Apple Learning Center.

"I pray that this never happens to any of my other local child care [providers]. … We need the support. We need to feel safe. I need my parents to know that their child's in a safe haven … so they can go to work, they can go to school, knowing their child is safe."

Alex Cooley, a parent of a child at A 4 Apple, said he started advocating for action in July last year when a shooting happened outside of Catfish Corner, "right where we do day care pickup."

He reached out to the Mayor's Office, King County Council, Seattle City Council, "anyone who would listen," but nothing happened. He was critical of Vulcan for lack of development and improvement of property in the area and of Starbucks for closing a store on the corner.

"Here we are, a year and a half later, and we have a bullet through the window of the day care. It's beyond scary," Cooley said. "We need action, not just meetings, not just conversations, not just lip service."

Just adding more police isn't the answer, Cooley said. He and others talked about reclaiming and activating the property around 23rd and Jackson to make it less desirable for drug use, such as by gating a large parking lot on the corner; through the City expediting its permitting process so a Black-owned business could open in the building they said Starbucks abandoned; by having more city ambassadors on the streets; and through the City moving a nearby bus stop.

"Just like most everyone in the city, we want to live in vibrant and safe communities and have our children flourish as a result of it," Cooley said. "I don't feel that right now. I haven't felt that for quite some time. But my commitment remains the same to this wonderful learning center and this wonderful community — that it's possible. We have so much coming into this wonderful space. It is unfathomable that things like this happen."

Jamie Housen, communications director for Mayor Bruce Harrell, said in an email that the mayor visited A 4 Apple Learning Center last week after the shooting, adding that the shooting hit close to home for Harrell, who grew up in the Central District and is familiar with the family that runs the learning center.

"Public safety is Mayor Harrell's highest priority and Charter responsibility," Housen said. "The mayor believes every community deserves to feel safe and be safe, and this shooting is both scary and tragic for impacted residents and our broader Seattle community."

Housen said the Mayor's Office has responded to community calls for increased police patrols and the presence of community safety officers and that the mayor's "budget proposal makes critical investments in public safety and reducing gun violence, which requires a holistic approach including thorough investigations, community-based programs, and upstream solutions."

The Seattle Human Services Department (HSD) is expected next month to approve a "notice to proceed" for Black Coffee NW to refurbish the former Starbucks location, Karissa Braxton, an advisor to the mayor, said in an email. The business had received approval for Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) to reimburse tenant improvements to the building, but it requires HSD approval which oversees the federal CDBG program.

"More eyes on the street and feet on the ground help create safety," Housen said. "Activation of dynamic neighborhoods and vibrant small business districts is a core element of Mayor Harrell's safety efforts, which is why we've invested in supporting small businesses, filling vacant storefronts, and building generational wealth through our Office of Economic Development."

At Thursday's gathering, King County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay said the violence has become personal. He responded to the shooting at the Rainier Beach Safeway parking lot in July, where Safe Passage community workers were injured in a shooting.

"They got shot up," Zahilay said. "Yeah, people were bleeding out in the Safeway parking lot. These are people that I work with every day. It was devastating."

Then, the following month, three people were shot and killed at a hookah bar.

"I knew all three victims who died there," Zahilay said. "All three of them. One of them was the sister of my staff member who's joined us today."

Zahilay called for "hyperfocused intervention strategies," because research shows that shootings happen among an identifiable and small network of people. He said groups like Community Passageways need more resources to intervene and prevent shootings in those networks. He called for more case managers to support victims of gun violence and an "all hands on deck" work group to tackle the issue of violence and community development.

Bridget Washington, a local business owner and resident, called for a return to older values of community and for rebuilding community.

"You can't rob someone when you know his name, right?" Washington said. "We were kept safe because your mom, your mom, your mom," she said, pointing to people in the crowd, "had the same rules, had the same expectations, and when you were in the public, you represented that family."

Washington was joined by other child care providers who echoed her concerns and expressed the need for bulletproof glass to be installed on street-facing windows,

It's a sign of how bad it is when people teaching children have to work behind bulletproof glass, according to Omari Salisbury of Converge Media.

"This is not how normal people live," Salisbury said, calling on politicians and corporations to move beyond talk and take concrete action. "Listen, as a community, we can't take this no more."

Parents like Ericka Mac are hoping changes can be made and made soon for their children.

"She's so resilient," Mac said as her daughter played nearby. "She's been fine. She's been ready to get back to school. She loves her school. We love A 4 Apple. She's learning tremendously over here. The providers are amazing. There's so much love and nurture and discipline at the same time. So she's been ready to get back to school."

Editors' Note: This story was updated on 10/24/2023 to reflect the City's efforts to allow a business to open in the former Starbucks location.

📸 Featured Image: Appollonia Washington, co-owner of A 4 Apple Learning Center, speaks to media and others gathered at a public safety meeting in the wake of a nearby shooting last week that left one man wounded and forced children at the center to crawl for safety. (Photo: Phil Manzano)