SACRAMENTO, California — Empty storefronts and broken windows are a common sight on Broadway in Sacramento. Many neighbors worry that if the crime and homelessness in the area aren't addressed soon, more businesses will leave.
The corridor is home to some of Sacramento's most iconic businesses, and some of its most vulnerable.
"It's kind of sad," said Christian Garland, who grew up in nearby Land Park. "It was a beautiful place. Safe. Now I don't feel comfortable walking down the street."
Garland was walking into the Walgreens about an hour after Sacramento police responded to reports of a woman crying and throwing things in the cosmetics aisle.
She was arrested for disorderly conduct and booked at the Sacramento County Jail, according to police.
"Why can’t we get the basics right? Like public safety," said Kristina Rogers, Land Park Community Association President.
She worries Walgreens will be the next store to close.
"I find that to be heartbreaking, because this is the kind of business where you’ve got middle-class, working-class people, they’re feeding their families on their jobs here, and we’re probably going to lose Walgreens because of the crime," said Rogers.
It comes even as the city talks about new development on Broadway — affordable housing and lane reductions to improve walkability.
Rogers doesn't oppose those efforts but says the buildings she saw when she first moved to Land Park were "going to be the future of Broadway, and now look at them. We got two closed stores [Jamba Juice and Starbucks], and [Walgreens] one just got ransacked today."
