SAN ANTONIO – Some neighbors living near a busy stretch of Broadway just south of Loop 410 are bar-hopping mad.
They say police lights flash every weekend along the same two blocks that are home to several bars.
News 4 ran the crime numbers on that area. In the past six months, police have been called to those two blocks more than 100 times. Forty of those calls were to one bar, Revolution Room.
Neighbors reached out to News 4 after an incident around closing time Friday morning. Police say shots were fired from the back of one of the bars, and three people hopped in a car and sped away.
The skid marks are still visible at Broadway and Lawndale, and neighbors worry it’s a sign crime is escalating.
"We have seen a big difference in our neighborhood as far as the crime goes,” one woman said.
She did not want her face shown because she lives a block from the bars and says the patrons walk down her street drunk, so she doesn’t want more problems.
"It starts around Thursday,” she says. “We'll start seeing a bunch of traffic around here."
In the past six months, police officers have responded to DWIs, loud music, car burglaries – even fights with guns outside the bars.
"There were helicopters coming around,” the concerned neighbor said. "The lights from the helicopter were shining down in our yards. I thought, 'Uh, oh. That means they're looking for somebody in this area.'"
Lee Beekly owns two of the bars, Revolution Room and Rebar, plus a restaurant down the street.
"Last thing we want to happen is residential is affected by commercial,” Beekly said. "There are a lot of businesses. We're three of hundreds."
He said it’s a high-traffic street, and all the businesses – not just his – attract around 23,000 cars a day.
"That brings, unfortunately, crime,” Beekly said. “It brings petty theft, small crime, whatever you call it."
He said he’s amped up security in the past.
"High budget toward security, armed police officers if needed,” Beekly said.
And now, he’s meeting with his security and management teams to address the latest crime concerns.
"If there are complaints, we want to hear about it,” Beekly said.
He’s about to open a third bar, Leon’s, that he hopes will help change the area’s reputation.
"I think it's a different clientele. Maybe a more mature clientele,” Beekly said.
But the concerned neighbor worries another bar will just bring more crime.
"We would like our neighborhood back the way it was,” she said.
The area is part of Councilwoman Elisa Chan’s district. News 4 reached out to her office and learned that for the past week, her staff has been working with neighbors to pinpoint the peak times for crime.
A spokesperson said her office will take that information to police to see what can be done to help reduce crime.
