News-Record.com

Correction:

2 Shootings last month-- One in the JCPenney parking lot, the other in the Gap kids store. It has become a hangout for hoodlums and not only do I feel unsafe there but I can't stand the patrons. They are mostly teens that should be in school with their pants around their ankles. It's absolutely disgusting and no parent would go there much less expose their kids to it.

Perception to most people is reality. I think the owners of Four Seasons really needs to step up with its security. Its was events like these that led to the downfall of Carolina Circle Mall. On top of that, these "outdoor village malls" like South Pointe in Durham and Friendly Center here are becoming more popular with shoppers.

How was that this robber was able to get away? Where was the security?

I happened to be at Belk at Four Seasons just a few hours after that robbery (of course I didn't know of the robbery at that time). The clerk in the ladies' department who rang up my purchases told me about the incident. She said that the person entered the first floor from the mall entrance, showed the gun and asked that all money be put in a bag. The clerk complied and the robber fled back into the mall with very little cash.

She said that he was not caught.

That's really sad news, Allen. I've been a loyal Four Seasons customer for 20 years now and I would hate to see it fade away like Carolina Circle Mall or Eastland Mall in Charlotte.

But Tim is right - perception is reality. If people (particularly middle-class folks) don't think the mall is safe, they will stop shopping there. Quite frankly, I'm not sure I would want to go to Four Seasons at night, given the recent spate of high-profile violent crimes.

Four Seasons management needs to get aggressive about this. They must step up security and enforce a customer code of conduct. Beyond that, they need a PR campaign to let people know they are taking this seriously and are addressing the problems. I sure hope they do.

I also believe bigger issues in the surrounding areas -- the High Point Road corridor -- need attention. Or as Steve Showfety, president of the Koury Corp., told me the other day, it could decline in the same way Randleman Road faded.

One of the problems with Four Seasons is it currently has too many sneaker and thug clothing stores. This may be as a result of the owners wanting to reach a certain younger more hip crowd. If so, their choice.

I believe Ann Taylor's women's store went to the new Friendly complex as well as Kirkland's, a mainstay in the mall for decades, recently closed.

And placing gigantic bubblegum as well as soda machines throughout the mall complex, now that's some tacky stuff man.

On occasion we'll shop there, but significantly less than in the past, and only during daylight hours, and as a result of the recent robbery I definitely won't go there unless I'm escorted by my wife.

I agree that the vending machines don't add much class to the surroundings but I wouldn't describe any establishment as selling "thug" merchandise. Young people wear what they wear.

I agree, Allen - I have no problem with young people coming there to shop. They have just as much right to spend money as anyone else - even if you and I may not agree with their fashion choices.

However, I am concerned about the large, often boisterous, groups of young people at the mall who appear to just be loitering, particularly on weekend nights. I can see how that could create problems. Of course, the thug who robbed Belk was described as 35 years old, so we can't blame teenagers for all the problems at Four Seasons.

The vending machines don't bother me at all - I don't think they are in any way a factor here. Heck, I've even bought a soda or two from the mall vending machines. To me, the issues at Four Seasons are 1. security and 2. customer conduct.

It seems to me that once the robber left the counter, the employee should have pushed a button to alert security and immediately call the security describing the robber and what he was wearing. Mall Security should have been located near all entrances and exits. To stop anyone that fits the description trying to leave the mall. What is with the security there? They are suppose to have cameras everwhere too.

The clerk should have reacted immediately and called security? Yes that's ideal, but truth be known, the event probably so traumatized the clerk that he/she will be in therapy for some time.

I find it interesting that instead of running from the scene of the crime into the parking lot, the thug ran into the mall area where there's security cameras in every nook and cranny as well as the ever present security officer. Since the murder occurred in the Gap Kid's store the security has been significantly beefed up. Apparently the thug didn't have much respect for Four Season's security or he'd of ran away from it instead of toward it.

The plans to revitalize Lee Street over the next twenty years by UNCG may eventually trickle downstream. In addition, all neighborhoods, with the exceptions of the most entrenched very rich areas and a few of the most embattled poorest, will see signifucant swings in the crime and other levels of problems. The rental areas leading up to Green Valley are seing increasing crime of late, according to a map available online I saw when checking out places to buy a house last year. Ditto areas just west of Holden Road and edging into the far side of Lindley Park. North of Cornwallis, even some south of it, too. Across from Grimsley, vagrancy is an issue. Intruders in buildings, etc.

In general, many parts of the inner core are becoming targets for property crime. Some are beginning to show strains of the disproportion of wealth. High Point Road may well be beyond the pale, but as all these statistics are expected to crest and trough through predictable cycles, it will hit the old Friendly Center sometime in the next several years. The spanking new shoppes, will degrade on a curve eventually, too.

Remember, there's always the bus.

People show up at Friendly CTr. have government officials there who will re-route them to Four Seasons.

Problem solved. No worries.