MEMPHIS, Tenn — As crime impacts many parts of Memphis, members of the Whitehaven community are hopeful collaboration and certain safety precautions will help keep businesses safe and maintain growth.
“Whitehaven, or ‘Blackhaven,’ is on a comeback. Anytime they put a Starbucks on the corner, you better watch out,” barber Jeron Lloyd said. “It’s some money coming, and it's well-deserved.”
Lloyd said growth in Whitehaven has been nonexistent since the shuttering of Southland Mall.
“When Piccadilly, and I think it was Goldsmith’s, at the time, and Sears was at the Southland Mall,” Lloyd said. “I used to work the barbershop at the Southland Mall. It was a great economy. It still has that potential.”
Adding to the hurdles for some is crime. According to the Memphis Crime Commission, major property crime in Memphis has spiked 42% since last year.
“Crime right now is high all over the city,” Jason Sharif, Executive Director of Respect the Haven CDC, said. “You know, unfortunately, when you have economic growth, or when you have new businesses coming in, you know, you have opportunists. We have had community meetings with businesses to address, you know, taking greater measures.”
Those measures include partnering with law enforcement to increase the presence of sky cop cameras, increasing adequate lighting around businesses and addressing exterior blight.
“I believe Elvis Presley Boulevard should be just as important as the Vegas strip," Lloyd said. "They should be able to come from Graceland Mansion and walk all the way down to the mall and have a great time. It’s going to give tourists more to do and local citizens.”
Sharif said he believes Whitehaven is a middle-class neighborhood even though there is poverty, and he believes it is a neighborhood on the rise.