Deep Ellum closing at midnight? Property owners demand the city take action against crime

DALLAS - Deep Ellum businesses and property owners are calling on the city of Dallas to take dramatic action after a series of violent incidents.

To put it bluntly, they believe the area is no longer safe after midnight. And they’re proposing closing all businesses at midnight unless a business can justify a special use permit.

Deep Ellum Crime

The backstory:

There were three shootings in Deep Ellum in June. 

In the early morning hours of July 5, multiple people were injured, and a 22-year-old was killed in the area. 19-year-old Gael Aguilar was arrested and charged with that murder.

Jon Hetzel, a property owner and the president of the Deep Ellum Foundation, shared a video from social media that shows a man running after another man, punching him.

It’s a scene that’s become all too common in Deep Ellum.

What they're saying:

Hetzel and other Deep Ellum property owners are fed up with the crime. They sent a letter to the city this week demanding action. 

"Deep Ellum is an absolutely amazing neighborhood during the day and in the dinnertime evening hours. I take my 5 and my 2-year-old down here on a regular basis. I office here. I love this neighborhood. Until we see some real policy change, it is not going to be safe in the late-night hours. And that would be a shame for the entire region to lose this district as a nightlife district," Hetzel said.

More specifically, the property owners want the city to shut down all Deep Ellum businesses at midnight to "change the behavioral patterns of non-patrons coming down here with their guns late at night making it scary for patrons to come to the neighborhood and then also doing violence as well."

Hetzel believes the city should require special use permits for establishments to operate after midnight.

"Some operators and others have learned how to skirt those rules and masquerade as restaurants even though they are operating as night clubs," he said.

Stephanie Keller Hudiburg, the executive director of the Deep Ellum Foundation, believes the city needs to hold everyone to the same high standard.

"We’re really proud to have a lot of very seasoned operators that know how to create safe environments that people can come and enjoy and that should be an expectation for everyone," she said.

Closing down one or two bad operators won’t be enough, Hetzel said.

"Neighborhood is getting inundated by people just coming late at night, not to just have a good time and get a little drunk but to bring their guns and booze bottles and party and get in fights and those fights occasionally they escalate to gun violence, which is not fair to hundreds of good businesses we do have in this neighborhood who aren’t going to survive a situation like that if their patrons are too scared to come down here," he said. 

The property owners also pointed out other problems including people violating the city’s open container laws and minors being served alcohol.

"We have not seen much enforcement by TABC here in years," Hetzel said.

What's next:

The Deep Ellum Foundation has also created a survey for people who live, work, and own businesses or property in the area to share their feedback.

Dallas City Councilman Jesse Moreno, who represents Deep Ellum, is out of town and was not available for an interview. But in a statement, he said the city is already working to implement a full-enforcement policy to address crime swiftly and consistently.

Deep EllumCrime and Public Safety