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Crime might be hindering new development in Northwood

Posted at 6:21 PM, May 04, 2018
and last updated 2018-05-05 11:56:22-04

It's the same old song for neighbors in West Northwood Historic District. 

"It's not safe honestly," Miriane Maxi said. 

Maxi says she grew up in the area for years. She's waited, hoping things might change.

She and other neighbors woke up to news of a deadly shooting, Friday morning. 

A man died after he was shot outside of an apartment building on 600 block of 37th St. 

To add to neighbors frustration since 2018 there have been more than 200 reported crimes in the area. 

"We work hard to try and make that a safe area as we do every area of the city and it's just something we have to change over time." City Administrator Jeff Green said. 

But many in the area say time is up they want to clean up the area and they think new development might be the key. 

"My stepdad goes to the Northwood meetings and we try to bring more resources but there's not many resources honestly," Maxi said. 

They might be waiting a little while longer. City commissioners vetoed plans for a $75 million redevelopment project. Green admits bringing new developments into Northwood hasn't been easy.

"Like every other community in the city they want to have a vibrant community that's safe, with activities and that's clean," he said. 

Green says they're actively working to try and get developers to build, they're also working to curb the violence in the Northwood area. 

The city plans to reaper a program that will help monitor shootings in a couple of weeks. with a new program to monitor shootings.

Below is a map of the reported crimes in the north end of West Palm Beach from January 2018 to May 2018.  The different markers show different crimes. Click on the marker to learn the date and type of crime.