Antioch’s new mayor met with residents of a neighborhood that has seen near-constant gun violence, leaving residents feeling like prisoners in their own homes.
Much of the violence is taking place in the area surrounding the Sycamore Square Shopping Center, where newly elected Mayor Ron Bernal visited on Tuesday.
“What are you going to do differently that the other mayor, you know, couldn’t get done and do in our community?” asked Nina, a resident of Antioch.
“Well, the first thing we need to do is appoint a permanent head,” Bernal replied. “And someone who is good at community policing will build relationships and trust with this community.”
CBS
Bernal came to the mall on Tuesday to talk to CBS News Bay Area. As soon as he got out of his car, it was clear that people wanted to talk to him.
“The violence,” Nina said. “I’m about to move in January.”
“Well, we have to get the HOA involved again because they left and we’re running out of things for the kids to do,” Bernal told her.
The parking lot and the adjacent Sycamore neighborhood, has seen four shootings in the last seven daysmuch more the past few months.
It has become the epicenter of violence in Antioch, and Bernal said that because the police department is staffed with about 40 officers, the area needs to be a focal point 24 hours a day.
“Every morning when we wake up, we have to ask ourselves: What is it like in Sycamore Square?” Bernal said. “How’s the Sycamore neighborhood doing?”
“We need an unsung hero right now,” says Jalonnee Stewat of Fresh Image Boutique. “We need a hero here.”
Stewat says the family business is suffering.
“Yes, I have bullet holes here,” he said, pointing to multiple impact points. “I’ve got a bullet hole up there. I just had this window fixed and this window fixed. I’ve got a bullet hole here with a safety sign on it. We ain’t scared out here, man, it’s getting crazy to where no one wants to come shop here.”
But he says he is determined to stay, and while he supports a greater police focus, he is among those with a different request.
“First and foremost, we need things for kids to do,” Stewat said. “We need jobs.”
“We need jobs,” added Leonard, a neighbor. “If you get better jobs, I tell you, things will slow down.”
“The most important thing, Nina, is that we have to make it a priority,” Bernal said of the neighborhood. “This neighborhood has to be a priority. We can’t be in this community when there’s gun violence and then take off and forget about it for months.”
At every storefront, entrepreneurs were eager to talk. And Bernal says the feedback is a good sign that people are eager for change, or better yet, willing to get involved.
“At the end of the day, it’s about building community,” Bernal said. “That’s really what it is and that’s what I want to do here.”
A big part of the mayor-elect’s message here is patience, that things won’t change overnight. He also talks about bringing the city council to this area to talk to residents about problems and possible solutions.
Bernal will be inaugurated as mayor of Antioch on December 10.
