Fall 2020 - 1736 Magazine

Workers tend to
raised flower beds
in the Broad Street
median parking
bays in downtown
Augusta.
BLIGHT continued from 40
discourage development. They also act as
fire hazards and magnets for crime. Each
year, an average of 6,000 firefighters are
injured in vacant or abandoned building
fires. In some jurisdictions more than 70%
of fires originate in abandoned buildings.”
And according to the U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development, “vacant
and abandoned properties are among the
most visible outward signs of a community's
reversing fortunes.”
D’Amico can’t quantify the economic
impact of downtown Augusta’s undeserved
image as a hotbed for crime. He knows only
that reputational damage is easy to foment
and is difficult to undo.
“With good fortune and our officers doing
what we ask, those numbers can continue
to drop,” D’Amico said. “Certainly, you're
never going to eradicate crime. If there’s
only one crime in an area and you’re the
victim, then it’s a 100% crime rate, right?”
He recalled an incident when he was in
charge of deputies assigned to James Brown
Arena. A coliseum authority member made
a public statement that people were not
BLIGHT continues on 47
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