Building Together: City of Memphis Weekly Newsletter

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Last month, I had the privilege to speak with a group of Faith Leaders and key members of their congregations. My message was direct. My aim was to recruit them to help us lead the way to a better Memphis because so many of them are already so deeply involved in this work. I wanted them to see themselves as a coalition. I wanted them to see themselves as a choir rather than as individual voices. And I believe we all left singing the same song - together, we can build a better Memphis. 

As I set the stage, I told some hard truths. After decades of disinvestment in some of the most important - and historic - neighborhoods in our city, we are at a point where things simply can’t continue the way they are. Too many of our streets and sidewalks are broken and dirty. Litter and trash are rampant in many of our neighborhoods. The lingering negative impact of COVID on our social behaviors has continued for too long. And our city’s crime numbers in 2023 were the highest since 2006.

(Memphis’ strong faith community: there are over 3000 churches, synagogues, temples, mosques, and other places of worship in our city.)

But a bigger part of the problem may be that we’ve become numb to some of the problems. We’ve accepted them for too long. But there’s more truth about Memphis - the 2024 numbers are trending down by 13.6% year to date in all categories, and that is significant. 

Still, we don’t feel safer yet. Our hearts haven’t caught up with our heads, and we have to do something about that. We cannot wait for someone else to fix it. We cannot wait for someone else to create a Memphis that our kids will want to grow old in. We have to fix it ourselves. 

We have to be the change that will create a better path for Memphis and for future generations of Memphians because the alternative is to give up and continue to accept a narrative that Memphis is a dangerous and broken city. 

But I refuse to give up on my city. I believe we have the right collective mindset to change the path. The Memphis I know is innovative. Let’s not forget that xAI and Elon Musk chose Memphis because we had the skills and heart to get things done - and we knew how to get them done faster. That is who we are. 

Yes, we have blight - blight can be remediated. Yes, we have crime - crime can be curbed. Yes, we have broken areas - but what is broken can be healed. 

So, let’s fix it. 

Where there is danger, we will create peace. Where there is blight - we will create beauty. And where things are broken - we will spark renewal. 

I asked the faith leaders of our community to start a movement. And I am asking you to be part of the movement. As we move forward, we will call on every leader in our community to lay down their differences and pick up this common cause for our community - for our neighbors - for our city. 

We are calling the greater effort The Peace Project, and it is a two-year implementation plan to significantly change the trajectory of our city and better the lives of the people in our community. In year one, we will prioritize restoring visual peace through neighborhood beautification. We will start by asking our community leaders to help create a more peaceful city by Owning Your Block. 

This initiative asks that we all reclaim the areas around our homes, businesses, and houses of worship. It encourages each of us to take personal responsibility for restoring beauty to our neighborhoods by picking up trash, pulling weeds, mowing overgrown lots, and addressing lighting and other indicators of disinvestment.  

We will start with a city-wide Own Your Block event on October 19 - where we will work all across the city restoring beauty, peace, and hope. And we will also ask you to continue to own your block every day. And if your block looks great, we will ask you to go one block, or one neighborhood over and work where your efforts are needed. We will ask you to see our entire city as your block. You can learn more about the efforts here.

So, let’s make it happen. I can see a future where Memphis is the blueprint for creating meaningful change, reducing crime, uplifting the community, and creating a better city. And I see the opportunity for each of you to identify spaces in your neighborhoods that could be transformed from blighted or empty lots to spaces that create economic opportunity for the people of our city - like additional housing and neighborhood hubs. 

I am also thrilled to announce that as part of these clean-city efforts, we are also creating a ONE MILLION DOLLAR initiative to build small business capacity in every district throughout our city. Later this month we will be releasing an RFP to recruit Landscaping, Hauling, and other General Contracting firms to partner with us on these efforts. The funds will be used to contract with local businesses in each district, who will work in partnership with the city to gut grass, clean litter, haul oversized items, and make general improvements to the state of our city. 

I believe this investment will not only help to create a more beautiful city but will also help to fuel the growth of local small businesses, the very businesses that are the backbone of our community. I believe the work will be meaningful for their neighborhoods. I believe the opportunity will increase their networks and the capacity to grow and scale their businesses. 

And I believe this investment - in beauty, in peace, in community - will be life-changing.  

Join the movement! Sign up to be part of the Own Your Block city-wide clean-up! Registration will close Friday, September 20. Sign up here. 

Clean-city Champion. We would also like to announce that Karen Gause, our Deputy Chief of Staff, will assume the community advocate role formerly held by Steve Shular on an interim basis. Karen has already been leading our Blight Zero efforts and has demonstrated the organizational strength and customer service acumen to fill the position and the huge shoes of her predecessor. You can reach Karen to say congrats or share a concern at Karen.Gause@memphistn.gov

Weekly Crime Trend

The report below provides our weekly update on Part 1 Crimes. It updates daily and shows a continuous rolling 7-day total compared to the prior 7-day total. The charts on the right show the calendar week trend, comparing 2023 to 2024.

(We maintain two crime dashboards, the Weekly Crime Trend report can be found here, and the Crime Analytics dashboard can be accessed here.)

Our Strike Team worked in the following zip codes this week: 38018, 38106, 38114, 38115.

Social and Community Shout-outs:

Youth Basketball Clinics. Registration is now open for FREE youth basketball clinics hosted by Memphis Parks Athletics Department! See full details here.

MAS Adoption Saturdays. Bring home a furry friend this Saturday, September 14  from Memphis Animal Services from 10am-2pm at Hollywood Feed. See more details and share here.

A Taste of Memphis. Join Memphis Housing & Community Development for the 10^th Anniversary of A Taste of Memphis on Thursday, September 9 on Tiger Lane. It's a community celebration showcasing the greatness of our neighborhoods and indigenous leaders working to make Memphis a better place to live, work, and play! See full details here.

Parks Fall Festival. Memphis Parks is looking for vendors to participate in the first-ever Fall Festival on October 26 at Gaisman Park. See full details here.

Weekly round-up

in partnership and progress,

Paul A. Young