Nearly a year after Mayor John Whitmire announced a coordinated crackdown effort to target reckless behavior on Washington Avenue, one bar owner told ABC13 that it led to his arrest back in May for a simple violation.

Meanwhile, neighbors said public safety and overall quality of life have improved.

Stacie Fairchild is just one community member who’s been advocating for change for years and said since Mayor John Whitmire’s initiative, there’s been a difference.

“It used to just be, quite frankly, lawlessness. Complete chaos on weekends, just call it Wednesday through Sunday. Now it’s actually pretty quiet. I’m not getting any phone calls after midnight,” said Stacie Fairchild, President of Super Neighborhood 22, Washington-Memorial coalition.

For bar owners like Seyed Ghoreishi, owner of Sidebar on Washington Ave, he said he always works to comply with all rules from the city, but he believes some locations are being targeted. Back on May 15, he said the enforcement escalated when he was arrested.

“We comply with every permit, anything they need. It’s overreach. When we have 12 to 13 law enforcement officers come in and look for reasons to shut us down,” Ghoreishi said.

He didn’t want to show his face due to his medical condition, but said his arrest was for refusing to comply with municipal health and sanitary standards.

Ghoreishi said it was over bugs and insects in his business, which he said he does not have, and according to court documents, it’s unclear how law enforcement supposedly knew they were there. The owner said this type of offense typically results in a citation, not jail time. Ultimately, court records show the case got dismissed due to no probable cause.

But for Ghoreishi, he believes it goes beyond violations.

“They seem to be targeting the days they know we’re going to be busiest, and when you’re a small business, especially in the worst economic downturn of our lifetime, they know that if they shut us down, it could be a make-or-break night,” Ghoreishi said.

He said a different business, a part of a new Houston hospitality group, may be taking legal action.

But ultimately, businesses and neighbors say they all want the same thing through enforcement. To properly improve safety and quality of life for everyone.

“If the initiative is to work with the bars and clubs to target drunk driving and make sure that everybody is compliant in ordering alcohol through TABC license mandates, then we’d be completely behind that. We want to work with the city,” Ghoreish said.

“We want business in the city, every business to thrive, but we also want to be able to sleep at night, and we also want to feel safe in our neighborhoods,” Fairchild said. “Just be good neighbors.”

The mayor’s office did not directly address the business owners’ concerns, but told ABC13 in a statement that they are continuing to work with agencies to ensure safety, and if businesses are in compliance, they have nothing to worry about.

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