St. Francis Seraph hires security guards for visitors to the nativity scene

CINCINNATI — Brother Tim Sucher carefully unpacked his worldwide collection of nearly 100 nativity scenes, hoping they would draw holiday visitors to St. Francis Seraph Church in Over-the-Rhine.

“We’re all going out here for Christmas,” Sucher said. “We have lots of trees, we have a Christmas collection, we have a Dickens village. And we also have a living nativity scene outside, so we have life-size figures and animals. We have sheep, goats and donkeys.”

Inside the church, which celebrates its 165th anniversary in December, it is a magical time of year.

Ray Pfeffer

Outside the church, dozens of people sit on steps or milk crates in the shaded plaza at Liberty and Vine streets. White graffiti is etched on the brickwork of the church. People quietly sell and use drugs in the entrances of buildings surrounding the church, undeterred when pedestrians pass by.

WCPO has been following the progress of this neighborhood for months, as Cincinnati police and city leaders try new and repeated strategies to stabilize the area against violence, drugs and misery.

“We are struggling enormously with the situation that has arisen for our church,” says Sucher, a Franciscan who has worked here for 19 years. ‘There used to be people on the steps of the church, but in the last three years it has become much more than just people on the steps… there are open containers, there are definitely drugs in circulation. It really got out of hand.”

Ray Pfeffer

In response, church leaders are installing surveillance cameras on the front and sides of buildings. They also plan to hire security guards to clear the crowds before visitors arrive to see the Christmas displays.

“What does it look like when there are a lot of people standing in front of your church drinking and carrying on,” Sucher asked. “What kind of impression does that make?”

While the southern part of the city’s historic Over-the-Rhine district has the city’s best restaurants and hippest bars, life is very different a few blocks north on the other side of Liberty Street.

An illegal open-air drug market a few blocks from St. Francis Seraph Church became so dangerous that Cincinnati police installed temporary barricades on Republic Street for six months in May to block traffic.

Ray Pfeffer

“I suspect that the barricade has hindered drug trafficking, but it is also clear that drug market activity in this area continues, and efforts to disrupt this activity will also continue – through law enforcement and otherwise,” said Captain Matthew Hammer. oversees Cincinnati Police District One. “The barricade will be removed soon.”

When WCPO visited the barricaded area and nearby streets on Thursday, we observed numerous people who appeared to be using drugs during the mid-morning hours, and others stood next to the barricades with backpacks and intensely watched who walked and drove by.

“Based on my observations, I believe there have also been minor improvements in the 1700 block of Republic and on Green Street, but some additional challenges in the 1600 block of Republic,” Hammer said. “Data from this immediate area currently shows no clear trend – either up or down. We will continue to monitor this.”

Ray Pfeffer

Two years after police here started the PIVOT program, designed to target small areas of chronic violence, Hammer said in May that the number of gunshot victims fell 45%.

“In District 1, violent crime is down 10% from last year. The number of shootings is down 6%,” Hammer said.

So WCPO asked, “Is the neighborhood safe?”

“I would say it will be safer,” said Kevin Hassey, president of the Over-the-Rhine Community Council. “More foot patrols would be helpful. I think manpower is limited so it’s difficult, but more police officers in the area would be great. They are just a deterrent if people see the police all the time.”

Ray Pfeffer

Police are relying on technology to fill manpower shortages, signing a contract with Fusus to connect 500 public and private cameras in Over-the-Rhine and West End.

Sucher would also like to see more police near his church.

“There are people standing here with open containers all the time. That is against the law,” Sucher said. “You know we don’t have no trespassing signs…unless there’s a consequence for your signs or something like that, who cares.”

Sucher knows of a time when police cited a person for criminal trespass, and he recently went to court in that case.

He estimated that several hundred people have illegally entered the church grounds since the church posted signs and painted a property line a few months ago.

Ray Pfeffer

“I don’t think citations work here because people don’t pay them anyway,” Sucher said. “I’ve seen some cops here instead of quoting people – tell them to pour that beer right now. I think that has a greater effect on people than just giving a quote.”

Although many residents may not feel safer, they now find the neighborhood cleaner.

Cincinnati Center City Development Corp., known as 3CDC, launched a cleanup effort a few weeks ago, with more than 100 field workers. The major clean-up campaign is planned four times a year, in collaboration with the Model Group, which also breathes new life into many vacant buildings here.

Ray Pfeffer

Crews removed 210 graffiti tags, 338 stickers and posters, 124 bags of trash, pressure-cleaned four city blocks, felled more than 100 trees and removed weeds at 35 locations in northern Over-the-Rhine. Afterwards, 3CDC brought two cleaning ambassadors to the area daily to sweep, collect trash, remove stickers from signs and wipe away minor graffiti.

“That’s one of the reasons we started this cleanup program, just to have more eyes and ears here and visibility and maintenance,” said David Vissman, 3CDC vice president of operations. “We really think that with the ambassadors here we have seen a real impact on litter every day.”

Ray Pfeffer

Sucher said the cleaning ambassadors are “a real blessing” who have made a huge difference in the appearance of the neighborhood.

He hopes the colder weather will discourage crowds from entering church property and noted that these people are largely not homeless. Many drive in cars, unload coolers and chairs and spend the day in front of the church, he said.

The parish is not giving up on its mission to serve the homeless. Instead of using the church for outreach, it will rely on St. Francis Seraph Ministries, which offers a soup kitchen, foot care and other services, Sucher said.

While most parishioners don’t want to block off the church steps, Sucher said they are considering cutting down a large shade tree and applying for a grant to make landscaping changes that will block the crowds, such as installing bricks and large flower boxes.

“Crowd problems for St. Francis Church are sometimes a big problem. Other times they are not,” Hammer said. “For a number of weeks it seemed that conditions were improving, but recently there have been some cases of many people congregating here again. We will continue to work with the church and work on long-term solutions.”

Ray Pfeffer

As for the barricades, Sucher said while they initially seemed to discourage drug trafficking, he doesn’t think they are effective now.

“Since they’ve been there, they’ve become much more comfortable driving there. They park everywhere on the street, even in the no-parking zones,” Sucher said. “There are many more people again.”

The Living Nativity at St. Francis Seraph Church, at Liberty and Vine streets, will be open daily from 1pm to 7pm beginning November 29. The church’s nativity scenes and nativity scenes are open to the public on Fridays from 4pm to 7pm. 7 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday from noon to 7 p.m., according to Brother Tim Sucher.