Wilmington council approves expanded weekly schedule for Brooklyn Arts District social district
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — A popular social district in Wilmington’s Brooklyn Arts District will now operate every Saturday after the City Council voted Tuesday to expand the pilot program.
Council members approved the change in a 5-2 vote, allowing the district to run weekly from noon to 5 p.m. The district had previously operated only on the first and third Saturdays of each month since launching last September.
The Brooklyn Arts District Collective requested the expansion, saying a more consistent schedule would benefit businesses and visitors.
Local business owner Tara English said the previous limited schedule had confused customers.
“The one thing that we needed to make happen was consistency for the general public,” said English. “The first and third Saturday was great, but the general public seemed to be a little confused. So for consistency with the general public, the every Saturday 12 to 5 just made sense for the future.”
Council member Chakema Clinton Quintana and Mayor Pro Tem Kevin Spears cast the two dissenting votes. Quintana said recent violence downtown and staffing shortages within the city’s police department raised concerns about expanding the district at this time.
“Predominantly, it’s not the right climate and we are still short of our local law enforcement, so I am not in favor of it right now,” Quintana said. “I know we talk about if something happens, but nothing has happened now. But what if, and so in the case of what if, we do not have that law enforcement to handle those situations right now.”
Council member David Joyner, who supported the measure, said the expanded schedule will help city leaders evaluate how the district performs during the summer tourism season.
“I think that it is important for us to see as a furtherance of the pilot program, how does this work in a summer season, in a tourist season before we make any further decisions,” Joyner said.
The social district will remain a pilot program while city leaders continue monitoring its impact.
