Area In Las Vegas Deemed ‘Too Dangerous’ For Local Business
If you don’t spend a lot of time in the Downtown Las Vegas area, you might be under the impression it’s gotten better than in past years. Locals are always hearing about the efforts to refresh and revitalize the area. Sounds like it’s a different story for those who are there every day.
At least for one local business, that just shut its doors for good due to safety concerns, Fox5Vegas.com reported. The Hydrant Club was a dog training, boarding and social club. It was located on the corner of North 9th Street and Fremont Blvd. That is until December 31, when owner Cathy Brooks closed the doors for good.
Brooks came out to Las Vegas ten years ago, with a lot of encouragement from Tony Hsieh to do so. Of course, Hsieh was a huge player in the effort to bring Downtown Las Vegas back to life. And before his untimely death, it looked like he was going to do even more than he already did to bring that dream to fruition.
Brooks was working in Silicon Valley at the time that Hsieh suggested she come out to Las Vegas. She was looking for something new at the time and Hsieh’s idea fit the bill (Fox5Vegas). During her visit, she saw post-it notes all over the walls of Hsieh’s apartment. All about his dreams for Downtown Vegas. It seemed very promising. Hsieh helped Brooks open The Hydrant Club back in 2011.
Now Brooks feels she has no other option but to relocate. She sited gun violence and harassment has part of her reasoning. Two people were shot just two blocks away from her business the last day she held classes. She also had an encounter with a group of drunk men who harassed her when she asked them to not throw their bikes in front of her property.
“The kinds of threats that really lead me to the decision that this neighborhood was no longer a safe place for a standalone small business were things like gun violence, things like large groups of unruly individuals”, Brooks said (Fox5Vegas). For now, she doesn’t know where her new location will be, but she will still offer her dog training services while she finds a new permanent home.
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