By MARK HIGGINS
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Residents unhapppy with focus on negative

Although residents don't always agree on what's best for their neighborhood, just about everyone chafes at the perception that Rainier Beach is unsafe or unsavory.

Overall, 18 percent fewer serious crimes were reported last year in the heart of Rainier Beach than were reported in 1993.

Robberies decreased by 31 percent; aggravated assaults were down 35 percent; car thefts dropped by 10 percent.

The same number of reported rapes occurred -- eight -- in 1993 and 1996, and six murders were recorded in 1996, compared with four in 1993, police records show. Arsons dropped from 10 in 1993 to six in 1996.

While the overall decrease in crime mirrors a citywide trend, Rainier Beach has taken some positive steps, including a popular late-night teen program at the community center on Friday nights from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. It is one of five programs citywide that get kids involved in wholesome activities as opposed to just hanging out. In addition, the community center staff provides food.

The center also is involved with Hang Time, sponsored by Ackerley Communications, which offers problem teenagers a range of programs from field trips to forums to volleyball, softball and basketball.

About a dozen latchkey kids come to the community center daily to work on homework, personal computers or take staff-supervised field trips.

The perception that Rainier Beach is unsafe is an impediment to business. One neighborhood challenge is to attract more stores without driving out small, local retailers such as King Donut on Rainier Avenue South. For more than 10 years, the donut shop has been a place for retirees and youngsters to congregate.

"People are hungry for good retail," says Mary Jones, branch manager for the Rainier Beach Seafirst Bank. One challenge is the stock of existing stores and services, some of which fail to attract local residents.

"If they don't upgrade, the clients will go elsewhere. So many people travel outside the area, and the dollars are going somewhere else," says Jones, a past Chamber of Commerce president.

Rainier Beach may have some blemishes, including gang activity, but it's no worse than most neighborhoods, residents say. Rainier Beach is a diverse, urban place with shortcomings as well as amenities, including a natural setting that puts it at the top of the list of Seattle's most scenic places.

Continued:

• Off the beaten path, rejuvenation takes shape
• Community has a little bit of everything
• Planners hope to dress up neighborhood
• Diverse population makes for a unique feel