City Battling Perception of Downtown Problems

This October 7 article from The Journal News outlines the challenges one community faces in terms of battling perceptions.

Tidbits from the article:

- police and city officials are battling a growing perception that the business district is becoming a dangerous place to be.

- "...it's extremely important for any city to project an image of safety. What's mind boggling is how a few incidents can create a perception of danger when that's not the reality at all."
- Paul Wood, the city's chief executive officer

- A city that long decried its lack of nightlife is in the midst of a building boom that has revitalized the downtown, and the city has become increasingly dependent on sales-tax revenue, so the stakes in the growing perception battle are huge.

- Data provided by the White Plains Police Department show that between January and September, serious crime dropped by almost 7 percent citywide from the same period last year. Larcenies are down 8.5 percent, from 812 during the first nine months of 2005 to 743 during the same period this year. The numbers for violent crimes are minuscule and almost statistically insignificant. There have been 34 robberies this year, for example, while 32 were reported during the same period in 2005. Non-domestic assaults are up slightly, to 33 this year, from 27 through September 2005.
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