Newly appointed Lowell Police Captain Marisol Nobrega, who was assigned the Downtown Sector, gave voice to downtown business owners early this afternoon in a meeting she organized to hear their concerns about the issues and challenges they face on a day-to-day basis.

The event was hosted at Warp & Weft on Market Street and was also attended by Police Superintendent Greg Hudon, Deputy Superintendent Stephen Gendreau, City Manager Tom Golden, Assistant City Manager Shawn Machado, Director of Homeless Initiatives Maura Fitzpatrick and City Manager’s Administrative Assistant Ineabelle Dominguez, who earlier in the day was named the city’s new Chief DEI Officer.

The meeting did touch on crime, vandalism and quality of life topics, with multiple individuals pointing out an increase in those activities. But the discussion was dominated by the issue of vagrancy and it’s negative effect not only on customers, but also on workers who are scared and often directly threatened by some of the more aggressive individuals populating the streets on a regular basis.

A wide array of business representatives were in attendance, from a prominent bank President and Attorney, to food establishments, a barber and shop owner. All echoed frustration at the inability of government to attack the problem, with a couple citing upper levels of government and the court system often “tying the hands” of law enforcement and city government.

Danielle McFadden, President of the Greater Lowell Chamber of Commerce was also at the session, as was yours truly, attending as a representative of my family business.

The session did include one moment of humor, when the discussion turned to parking and everyone in attendance gave a knowing nod and chuckle as one speaker spoke of an overly aggressive Parking Enforcement Officer, who happened to be the subject of an InsideLowell opinion piece back in January.

Captain Nobrega pledged to convene similar meetings on a regular basis, and along with Chief Hudon and Deputy Gendreau encouraged everyone to continue contacting police, even when they felt it was pointless, as it would assist their efforts to pinpoint trouble spots that often shift with police attention to a particular area or time of day.

Nobrega also conducted part of the meeting in Spanish for a couple of the attendees, and Dominquez acted as interpreter for one shop owner who felt more comfortable sharing her thoughts in Spanish.