A York business owner fears that York city centre is “losing its shine” due to an epidemic of anti-social behaviour and a lack of investment.
Matt Kaplan, owner of The Cheesecake Guy on Shambles, says incidents of public urination, begging and open drug use are becoming commonplace, to the detriment of locals, traders and visitors.
And he says dirtier streets and roads patched up with Tarmac speak of a lack of pride.
Recently a CCTV video Matt released, showing someone destroying his shop’s floral display, went viral.
But he says that’s only one example of many acts of poor behaviour he witnesses while working in the heart of the city.
He told YorkMix of an incident he saw in St Helen’s Square at around 8.30pm on a Saturday evening.
“I was coming out of Stonegate, and I saw some homeless people sitting on those benches,” he said.
“The one in the middle proceeded to get up, walk around to the other side of the bench, pull his pants down in full view of kids, tourists, people eating at Betty’s and urinate on the floor in the square.”
After nearby door staff were unable to intervene, Mr Kaplan flagged down a passing police van to report the incident. North Yorkshire Police have since contacted him to take a statement.
However, he expressed concern that a broader lack of visible policing is creating an environment where offenders feel unmonitored.
“The only time I’ve ever seen police officers are during race times, which are horrendous, and when they have bigger events.
“But other than that, it is almost like the prisoners are running the prison – and we’re all just in our houses waiting for daylight,” he said.
Matt’s witnessed “kids in the market here late at night drinking, breaking bottles. And I’ve seen people turn and walk away because they just don’t want to deal with it.”
He added: “We’re not going to end homelessness. We’re not going to end addiction or anything. But they need to police it better because it’s got really bad.”
Originally from the United States he moved here 12 years ago and fell in love with York. But he feels things have changed.
“It’s just got so out of hand in the past couple of years,” he says. “It just doesn’t feel like the same York when I first moved here.
“I’ve heard that from other people that have come back to visit, people that live here, other local business owners, they’ve all said the same thing.
“It feels like it’s starting to slip.”
Matt recalled one recent conversation: “There’s a tourist, she comes here once a year. She stopped me and said she’s noticed that York has got worse.
“It’s not as clean as it used to be. There’s a lot more people begging. She sees a lot more people urinating in alleyways, and there’s a whole article about tour guides being harassed at night.”
Matt also feels that the city centre has become more run down.
“I’ve noticed just walking around, it is dirtier. They’re taking slabs or stones out and replacing it with Tarmac and concrete. It’s not making it look nice.”
His customers are saying the same thing, he adds. “Some people have said that York has lost a bit of its shine. People tell me, ‘We just we come in, get what we have to get, and we leave’.”
York has lost a little of its sense of historic identity, Matt believes.
He is concerned about a ‘Disneyfication’ of parts of the city. “I lived in Orlando, so I know all about Mickey and tourism!
“We want the tourists here, but this is not Harry Potter. You’re losing the history.
“I sometimes have to explain who Margaret Clitherow is. And that’s really bad when an American that’s lived here only 12 years has to explain some of the history.
“I get it, Harry Potter brings in money, but you’re losing York’s true identity.”
He says if the city “brought back some of the identity of York and cleaned it up, policed it, made it just look a bit more inviting to locals” it would turn things around.
And he wants one more thing. “Bring back the fountain! I remember when I first moved here, everybody loved the fountain.”
Matt added: “Flowergate started it, but all we’re trying to do is beautify the city, and we’re not getting any help.
“They they need to start spending some money because I don’t feel like they’re investing it back into the city.”
A North Yorkshire Police spokesperson said: “Our latest quarterly figures show that crime across the York command has reduced by 5.4 percent and antisocial behaviour has reduced by 8 percent.
“But we understand that to any victim of crime or antisocial behaviour, that is no comfort to them and it will not feel like it has reduced.
“We understand people’s concern and have detailed analysis of hotspots to which we task our Neighbourhood Policing Teams accordingly to help prevent and deter such behaviour. We also have our proactive operation to target the illegal and dangerous use of electric bikes across the city.
“We work with our with partners, for example we are currently working with the City of York Council to update the Public Space Protection Order for York city centre.
“Members of the public should continue to report antisocial behaviour and criminality to the police – or Crimestoppers if you wish to remain anonymous.
“You can either call 101, or report online via our website. If a crime is in progress or your safety is threatened, always call 999.
“To report anonymously to Crimestoppers, call 0800 555 111 or online via their website.”
City of York Council sent us this statement about its concerns and priorities for the city centre.
York is continuing to grow with one of the largest regeneration schemes in the UK at York Central and future development set out in our Local Plan including The Movement and Place Plan which will deliver an accessible, affordable and healthy city, whose economy can flourish and will let residents and visitors see improvements all over York.
Our City Centre Vision sets out objectives, priorities and aspirations to allow York city centre to adapt, grow and thrive. York is also a proud Purple Flag city that ensures residents and visitors can enjoy safety, vibrancy, diversity and cleanliness.
Additionally the York Neighbourhood Caretakers are active in every ward of the city, making the city look its best.
We’ve also made the following investments into the city to attract visitors to our businesses and improve their experiences while they’re here:
We have launched a consultation regarding extension of the current city centre Public Safety Protection Order (PSPO) which would see the current restrictions around street drinking extended to cover other forms of anti-social behaviour.
We hope this would have a preventative effect as well as allowing us to implement sanctions against behaviour such as that described by the local business owner.
