Will Queen Street come back from this?
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Loading... - Daisy Murray
- 09 May 2022
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“It’s shocking,” says a TÄmaki Makaurau business owner who has just opened a flagship eatery in a prominent location.
“We hear yelling and altercations coming from the streets pretty much every night,” says an apartment dweller who rarely goes out after dark.
“It’s a slum … it’s just fucking horrible,” says the owner of an iconic bistro who closed his doors for good after nearly two decades of healthy business.
“Homelessness and crime in the city is going to get worse,” says a long-term restaurant owner struggling to keep her doors open.
Even Auckland Council has been forced to admit that its central city – home to 40,000 residents and responsible for generating $23 billion in annual GDP – has seen far better days.
Eateries sit empty, “For Lease” signs are up in shops, and closed streets, dead zones and dirty footpaths are everywhere you look. Much of that is thanks to all the construction going on, including City Rail Link upgrades that block traffic access to Queen Street.
Since the first lockdown in 2020, Auckland’s CBD has also seen an increase in crime compared to pre-Covid. Most recently, three people were injured in a shooting, and ram raids targeted the flagship stores of Gucci and Louis Vuitton.
The area was once a thriving hub, home to the biggest brands and best restaurants. Now it’s become a disgrace.
What happened? And more importantly, what’s being done to fix it? Read More...
