Times Square Alliance Streetwatch program for reporting problems in the public space

One of the people I follow on Flickr is the photographer Elvert Barnes (Elvert Barnes on the web.)

He is incredibly prolific and a careful observer and documenter of the public space, and is especially active in DC, Baltimore, and New York City.

A recent upload in my photo feed was from last fall, and showed a public art campaign posted on a trash can in Times Square, where the public spaces are managed by the Times Square Alliance business improvement district.  (More about this later.)

As we all know, it's a highly frequented area--with more than 365,000 daily visitors pre-covid, and almost that many today, even while most office workers are still working from home, and is the site of major events including New York City's New Year's Eve party with as many as 100,000 people all in one place for the ball drop at midnight ("The Impressive Logistics Behind Times Square’s New Year’s Eve," National Events Pros).

STAND WITH US poster by Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya on trash receptacle along Broadway between West 45th and West 46th Street in New York City, NY on Tuesday night, 24 August 2021 by Elvert Barnes Photography

I happened to notice a sticker on the can, promoting contacting the TSA when people see problems.  It wasn't particularly distinct as an element of the photo, but it piqued my interest.

Image courtesy of the Times Square Alliance.

It piqued my interest because it's relevant to things I'm addressing in Salt Lake, serving on the board of an independent park, and a member of the Friends group of a city park, a big issue is quality of maintenance of the public spaces, vandalism, restroom maintenance, etc.

Neither my park nor the city parks are particularly good about providing information or signage giving contact info on problem reporting.  Obviously, there is 911 for emergencies, but do you use that for a restroom issue in a particular park?  Do complaints sent to 311 or the city's reporting app get properly reported to and addressed by parks entities, especially independent parks?  Etc.

I keep arguing that not providing that kind of signage "reduces" "eyes on the street" and lets problems fester.

So the idea of not just seeing something, but doing something, is highly appealing.

I got the opportunity to talk to Regina Fojas, Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff of the TSA about their Streetwatch program. So here goes.

Maintenance of public spaces is a key element of public safety.  The whole concept of "broken windows theory" ("Broken Windows: The Police and Neighborhood Safety," Atlantic Magazine, 1982) is based on the findings that high quality maintenance in public spaces reduces the likelihood of disorder.  

It should be obvious that the 2000s period of urban resurgence was sparked by a significant decrease in urban crime, which is still the case, despite rises in murder in the covid era, and the Republican painting of cities as cesspools of crime and decay ("The real story about crime Republicans won’t tell you," Washington Post).

But even so, no agency has enough staff on the payroll to report and monitor everything.  Citizens can be an important element of "eyes on the street" in reporting problems earlier, facilitating quicker attention to resolving nuisances and other problems.

Many communities lack a clear process for reporting and addressing problems in the public space.  Problems such as graffiti, people in mental health crisis, sanitation, etc., bother people and make them feel unsafe, making it that much harder for cities to compete with the suburbs for commerce and residential location.

Although many local governments have online apps and 311 reporting systems for problems, it's often unclear to people who report problems that the government has responded, agencies may seem to lack  a "bias for action," and the reporting back on whether or not the problem was resolved is minimal ("Unresolved versus Closed as a determination in handing City inspection/service matters," 2018).

Like most places, New York City has city-provided reporting mechanisms, 911 and 311.  Business improvement districts provide an additional layer of reporting, both from reports by public safety staff and community ambassadors and the means for public reporting.

In addition, BIDs like the Times Square Alliance also have some capacity to address issues on their own separate from the city through sanitation staff, equipment (the Downtown DC BID has a gum removal machine used on sudewalks), and other means.

Times Square Alliance Streetwatch program is another layer for paying attention to the public space.  In addition to the reporting of problems by BID staff, the earliest iteration of the "Streetwatch" program, allowed people to report problems to the BID by telephone and email.

The program has since been expanded, and is promoted by the stickers affixed to street furniture throughout the Times Square district.

To me, the beauty of the latest iteration of the Streetwatch program is fivefold:

-- strong brand

-- there is a call to action that is particularly direct: "see something, do something,"

-- provides multiple ways to report problems -- phone, QR, messaging, email, and anonymously through the report it® online app.

--  complements and extends reporting of problems by Times Square Alliance staff, and is 

-- supported by a 24 hour call/dispatch center.

report it® is a reporting tool that doesn't require the reporter to provide contact information.  

It's a relatively new addition to the Streetwatch program, implemented last year, when during covid's peak, Times Square was seemingly empty compared to it being a busy office and theater district, and so problems seemed much more visible and frequent, even if the number of incidents wasn't much different from before ("As Times Square suffers, Alliance tries to soften the blow," amNY).

The addition of QR and messaging reporting modes, along with the ability to report anonymously, gave people a means to report problems and have more control over the quality of public spaces that they frequented--as residents, as employees of businesses in the Times Square district, or as visitors-- and spaces that they feared may otherwise be in decline without their taking action.

The app has a variety of reporting and tracking tools to manage response, identify problem areas, etc.  It also provides a way to reach back to the reporter, still anonymously, through a chat function.

Since the report it® element has been added to the Streetwatch program, TSA has received about 200 reports.  It may not be an astounding number, but that's because they already have multiple systems for reporting problems.  

In communities where reporting systems are more distant between the specific place where the problem occurs, where you report it, and the various levels in between, report it® seems like it would be a good addition, especially provided within a broader branded initiative like Streetwatch and its multiple elements.  (I'm thinking Parkwatch for Salt Lake...)

Again, having signage, stickers, etc. with information on how to report problems and a call to action is the very first step that many public agencies seem to have forgotten.

Who should I call to get fixed this broken toilet in Sunnyside Park?  There's no information posted anywhere.

A system like report it® gives more control to public space management organizations like BIDs and park systems to address problems more quickly than they would through the multi-step and separated 311 reporting system.

 A much emptier Times Square.  Photo: Gary Hershorn, Getty Images.

Times Square in 2017.  Photo: Michael Grimm.

From "The Brilliant Simplicity of New York's New Times Square," Wired Magazine.
 

Homelessness and TSA's response: Community First initiative.  I asked if TSA has social workers on staff, to address homelessness and other issues, as a number of BIDs do have such staff ("Helping Homeless Through Business Improvement Districts," National Center for Excellence in Homeless Services), in a manner that doesn't have to involve police.  

They do not, but they have developed a program called Community First, working with nonprofits in their district that do have dedicated staff with the expertise and range of applicable resources to help.  

Community First was developed during the pandemic, when NYC closed congregate housing for the unhoused, and moved them to hotels with single rooms.  A lot of those hotels were in the Times Square district.

This led to a greater number of people "being on the street," and more issues being played out in the public space and needing to be addressed ("Creating 'community safety partnership neighborhood management programs as a management and mitigation strategy for public nuisances," 2020), while at the same time recognizing that the unhoused are one of the constituencies of the community and deserve being treated with respect and humanity ("Community First: A Unique Approach to Street Outreach," Center for Court Innovation, "A new group to help Times Square emerge from COVID-19 pandemic," City & State).

A final word.  One of the last points that Regina made is that we need to:

-- "find and apply solutions, rather than simply be problem spotters."

I love that.  It reminds me of my line about the Greater Greater Washington blog, that there's a fine line between whining and critical analysis. 

Along with the directness of "see something, do something."

Tools like report it®, as elements of branded reporting initiatives like Streetwatch and helping programs like Community First allow us to act, not just notice something and walk on by, doing nothing.

A special thank you to TJ Witham, VP of Communications for the Times Square Alliance, for his quick response to my initial query and for lining up Regina Fojas for an interview.  Too many agencies blow off queries from serious blogs (maybe now they just ignore email?), which is a pain.  Another reason why Times Square Alliance is a BID to learn from.