In a letter addressed to the Mayor of Seattle, and the city council, dozens of business minds requested that the city take a hard look at public safety and drug
In a letter addressed to Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson and the city council, dozens of business leaders requested that the city take a hard look at public safety and drug-related issues within the streets.
38 leaders within the Seattle area, including Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith, Starbucks Chairman and CEO Brian Niccol, Costco CEO Ron Vachris, Nordstrom co-CEO Erik Nordstrom, Seattle Mariners CEO John Stanton, and Alaska Air Group CEO Ben Minicucci -- all signed off on the letter that was sent to city hall leaders on Thursday.
In it, they asked for a 100-day public safety action plan, an expanded surveillance camera network, and improved police staffing and response times throughout the city.
Additionally, the call to action included specific requests to the city to address Seattle's open-air drug markets and those living on the streets:
- A clearer policy for drug diversion, calling for treatment and shelter to be offered first, but arrest and prosecution for people who repeatedly refuse help.
- A prioritized plan from Seattle police and the city attorney to shut down open-air drug markets.
- A ban on camping within 250 feet of parks, playgrounds and schools, with encampments in those areas cleared within 72 hours.
Areas near 3rd and Pine in downtown Seattle and 12th Avenue and Jackson Street in Seattle have traditionally struggled with open drug use and dealing in public.
Krystle Orozco has lived near 2nd Avenue and Pine Street for multiple years, and expresses frustration with how little progress she believes she's seen in her day-to-day experiences.
“I think it’s gotten worse and worse. Honestly, it’s so sad when you live in such a beautiful city," she told KOMO News on the sidewalk of Pine Street while walking with her dog. "I mean, every day going to the dog park with him, I see someone doing drugs.”
She says that she wholeheartedly supports the letter's demands that were sent to city hall, but also expresses doubt about what will come of it.
“Absolutely [I support the call to action], [but] do I think it’s going to happen? No, because [city leaders] don't listen to us," Orozco said.
Generally, across King County, overdose deaths and emergencies show a healthy downward trend in recent years.
As of August, county data reports that there have been 550 confirmed overdose deaths in 2026, a 17.6% decrease from data through August 2025. In total, there were 914 overdose deaths in 2025, with 1,047 in 2024, and a peak of 1,340 in 2023.
King County still has not returned to pre-pandemic levels for overdose deaths, when there were 507 in 2020 and 429 in 2019.
County data also shows that there have been roughly 22% fewer EMS responses to overdose calls through August 2026, compared to the same time last year.
In total, there have been 3,726 EMS responses to opioid overdoses in 2026 -- with 6,548 responses in 2025, 6,925 in 2024, and a peak of 8,157 in 2023.
Renewed concerns in one neighborhood
Meanwhile, outside downtown Seattle, one neighborhood says it too is experiencing concerns over an open drug market: near 47th Street and Brooklyn Avenue in the University District.
"In the last few months that's just kind of it's gotten to a kind of a fever pitch and it's been a lot," said Don Blakeney, the Executive Director of the UDistrict Partnership. "It's raised a lot of concerns for the neighborhood," he said.
Blakeney notes that this past winter the number of people the partnership counted living on the streets in the UDistrict was as low as 32, while working with outreach teams and the city's programs to get people inside. He says, however, it was during the FIFA World Cup matches and through the remainder of the summer that their count crept back up to 80. During the pandemic, that monthly count reached as high as 150 people.
Blakeney stated that a recent gathering area on a property near the intersection was cleared out by its owner after it had been a hot spot for quite some time, but said the activity still persists.
One man on the street told KOMO News that many people go to the Christ Episcopal Church property at 47th and Brooklyn, where there is a non-profit stationed in the backside of the building titled the "People's Harm Reduction Alliance," which focuses on "protecting the health of people who use drugs, stopping the spread of bloodborne infections, and preventing drug overdose", per their website.
"If everybody hangs out there and then the drug dealers know where to find them, and then it just becomes a place that people don't want to go anymore," he explained. "We do talk to businesses nearby that have had a lot of struggles with folks coming in, and they'll be high, or they'll be looking to steal something so they can get high, and that has a ripple effect," he added.
The Executive Director says that there have been meaningful efforts to help those on the street and those with substance addiction struggles, by working with the city, King County's LEAD program, as well as the Seattle Police Department -- but adds that more needs to come in their direction to help contain the growing issue.
It's why he generally supports the tone of the letter addressed by business leaders.
"We do have people who are preying on homeless people. And I think there should be accountability for that. But there also needs to be services that are meaningful to offer folks," Blakeney said. "We really can't solve it with one. And we need the council, the mayor, the city attorney all to work together," he stated.
What those on the street think
Back on Pine Street, KOMO News spoke with a man who says he's been homeless in Seattle for about five months, and for the last three years in total.
Joshua Griffith stated that he is working on his own struggles with substance use by attending a methadone clinic and following the guidelines, while still working to find shelter.
“I’m trying to live a better life, so I would like some help," Griffith said, adding that personally he has not been offered shelter or services, and instead has had to seek out the outreach teams in downtown Seattle to ask for assistance or a referral for a caseworker.
He also stated that he felt that the demands made in the letter by the business community don't apply to a lot of those who are living on the streets.
“Nobody’s getting multiple offers and getting turned down," Griffith said about the request made to arrest and prosecute those who repeatedly refuse help. "That is nonexistent; you have to self-advocate and fight.”
Griffith also stated that those who are openly dealing drugs and doing so in public spaces should be dealt with by the law, but reiterated that a majority of people are not in that position.
"If they’re going to prosecute, prosecute, but a lot of us are just trying to survive, man, and I don’t think that should be inflicted on everybody,” Griffith said.
What Seattle is already doing about drug use and shelter
In June, the first new shelter property under Mayor Katie Wilson opened in the Interbay neighborhood.
The site along Armory Way, comprised of 75 pallet shelter units, is set to provide 24/7 staff support, case management, and connections to other services.
At the time, Wilson explained the shelter was designed for people who have been homeless for a long time and are experiencing “complex problems related to substance abuse or mental disorder.”
After taking office, Wilson had set out to create 500 units of emergency shelter by mid-June, and 1,000 by the end of 2026. Wilson acknowledged that goal had fallen short; however, Wilson said on June 2, 2026, that she expected to have as many as 300 shelter units to be online by the end of the summer.
In a response to the letter signed by the businesses, Wilson mentioned in a statement to KOMO News that her office will be sharing an update on its shelter acceleration work this coming week.
The Mayor's full statement can be read below:
I appreciate hearing from the business community on our shared priority of increasing safety outcomes for people in Seattle. As they know, many of the specifics requests they made are well underway.
In the last nine months we increased police presence, including foot and bicycle patrols, in several neighborhoods with persistent public safety issues: Rainier Beach, the Chinatown International District, Little Saigon, North Aurora, and Belltown. We are working with residents and business owners to implement changes to the built environment that improve safety and reduce gun violence. Earlier this year, we made significant street-level investments at 8th and Lane in the Chinatown International District, and we’ve committed resources to Little Saigon as well. On Aurora, SDOT installed street barriers on residential streets at high gun violence locations. We are now working on modifying on-street parking in Belltown.
We’ve more than doubled crisis care responders’ hours, have 3,500 police officer applications in the queue, and are actively recruiting a new police chief. Next week we’ll be sharing an update on our shelter acceleration work and rolling out a comprehensive gun violence reduction strategy. The work to reduce violence and increase safety in Seattle never stops in my office.
Seattle is making progress, step by step. While any violence is too much violence, it is important to understand that SPD data show shootings and homicides at their lowest in a decade. And yet, we have far too much crime and public disorder and people have a right to be frustrated. I, like everyone in Seattle, want to see that progress happen faster and steadier.
When we work in collaborative, transparent partnership on these goals, we make real progress on what matters most – creating a Seattle that is comfortable, safe, and prosperous.
Meanwhile, the city's Community Assisted Response and Engagement (CARE) Department saw a recent expansion of hours. The department dispatches in place of police to 'conduct welfare checks, de-escalate community members who are experiencing a crisis, and connect folks to resources like shelter, treatment, transportation, food, water, and clothing,' per the city's website.
As of August 2026, the CARE team provides near-24/7 services for those on city streets, with their 40 Community Crisis Responders (CCRs) operating from 6:30 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. on a daily basis. The move comes under Wilson's watch, building off of the department's creation under former Mayor Bruce Harrell.
At a public safety meeting involving communities in the North Precinct in early September, Wilson stated that she hopes to preserve funding for the CARE team and other Human Services programs, as budget cuts loom for the city as they face a large budget deficit heading into 2027.
"I will say for me, it has been my highest priority to preserve as much as possible - direct programs and services - that are impacting people's lives," she stated during the September 2 meeting.
She also stated that the city is actively recruiting a new chief for the police department, with the commitment of finding one by the end of 2026.
That night, Wilson said she hopes to increase the number of police officers in Seattle in 2027, while noting in a recent statement to KOMO News that there are '3,500 police officer applications in the queue'.
Wilson's proposed budget is expected to be presented to the city council in the coming weeks.
