Woman with hammer bashed in their windows. Here’s what city of Tacoma will do to help
The Tacoma City Council is working to ease some of the fiscal burden faced by more than a dozen downtown businesses that saw their windows smashed in last month.
A 47-year-old woman on May 18 broke around 56 windows with a hammer, affecting some 16 businesses along Antique Row, The News Tribune previously reported. The city took action to help last week.
On Tuesday, June 11, the City Council adopted a resolution authorizing $25,000 from the city’s contingency funds to bolster window-replacement efforts on Antique Row. Mayor Victoria Woodards noted that more than 90% of the vandalized businesses stand within a half block.
“These are small local retailers who have had a single location that provides for their primary income,” Woodards said. “These are the businesses that we want more of in Tacoma more broadly, and we must show our ability to respond with support when a crisis occurs.”
Woodards noted that the fiscal aid is supplementing Tacoma’s Broken Windows Replacement Fund, which is supported by American Rescue Plan Act money. Help for the Antique Row stores also is coming from funding raised by the Downtown Tacoma Partnership.
Cremello Cafe’s Anh Le previously told The News Tribune that replacing his business’s seven broken windows could cost up to $20,000.
Fifteen Antique Row businesses applied to receive help, city spokesperson Maria Lee said.
The price for windows ranges from $500 to $12,000 each, and all applicants who turn in the requisite verification paperwork will benefit from some reimbursement money, she said last week. Lee added that available funds won’t cover all of the damage.
Applications were opened to affected shop owners during a May 23 community meeting, Lee said. Not every applicant has sent in a cost estimate, so it’s difficult to gauge the extent of the financial impact.
Council member Sarah Rumbaugh said during the June 11 meeting that she was glad the city has contingency funds available for such aims.
“It’s not going to really probably help everyone, but hopefully we’ll be able to help enough businesses that it’s not going to be detrimental to them staying open,” Rumbaugh said. “So that’s really what we’re looking for is just to support business in downtown, and especially in this area where there have been other incidents in this general area.”
Business owners respond to the city’s resolution
Crystal Nguyen owns Peppermint Tuna, a sustainable clothing store on Broadway. She told The News Tribune on Thursday that two of her windows and a door were destroyed by the vandal.
Arriving at work to find broken glass was an unhappy shock, Nguyen said — not to mention the uncertainty she felt over how to foot the unexpected expense.
Nguyen, who started a GoFundMe after the ordeal, thinks it might cost around $4,500 to fix. She appreciates the city’s help, although the situation is less than ideal: “It’s better than nothing, but it still sucks.”
Alex Verchereau, who owns Big Dawg Barbershop and the vintage clothing-and-plant store next door, told The News Tribune that seven windows of his 10-window storefront were broken. He said fixing each one could cost roughly $1,200, potentially totaling around $8,400.
Verchereau is glad the city is offering some help.
“If it was just one solo business, I feel as if [we] might have been on our own,” he said, “but because there was a group — pretty much the entire street was affected — I think that’s why they stepped in.”
Justin Matias also has broken windows at his vintage store, SYC (Smile You’re on Camera), and joined Big Dawg Barbershop in launching an online fundraiser. He’s thankful for all the help received so far.
“We’re just taking it day by day, honestly,” Matias said.
This story was originally published June 17, 2024 at 12:46 PM.
