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May 1, 2023
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Street Report
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Seattle’s Third Avenue and Chinatown Full of Overdoses, Meth Fumes, and Stolen Goods at Night

Jonathan Choe
May 1, 2023
Street Report
 View at Twitter

Downtown Madness Continues

The warm weather is fueling a crush of illicit activity in the downtown #Seattle core this weekend. Dealers are out peddling fentanyl for as little as one dollar a pill. Once again there were multiple drug overdoses and the black market of stolen goods is flourishing.

I was out late Saturday night into the early Sunday morning hours, focused primarily on 3rd Ave and #Chinatown-ID. The moment the sun sets, it gets absolutely wild. Even the classical music crowd exiting Benaroya Hall (@benaroyahall) got a taste of the “fetty” and meth fumes. Not enough police officers to keep up.

There is no denying the severity of what’s happening to Coucilmember Andrew Lewis’ (@CMAndrewJLewis) district. Like I said, it’s going to get a lot worse before it gets better. It’s truly turned into an unwanted spectacle for the Emerald City. Wait until the @MLB All-Star game crowd walks through this in July. Will it get any better by then?

Resurrected From Fentanyl

Downtown #Seattle remains an absolute disaster, especially at 3rd Ave & Pike St. Right now the place is packed with open air drug use at the bus stops, vestibules, and alleyways. The black market of stolen goods is thriving. I’m working on a full weekend recap. Insane images. But for now, check out this crazy drug overdose. First responders were called in and were about to administer NARCAN. Watch what happens next. Never seen anything like this. @CMAndrewJLewis

It’s All The Same

Early Sunday morning, a little after midnight, I moved from 3rd Ave & Pike St. to Little Saigon in the #Chinatown-ID. It’s just a 10 minute bus ride away. Nothing has changed and it’s a FREE FOR ALL. Open air drug use, more sales of stolen goods, guy urinating near the bus stop. The crazy thing is I know virtually everyone here. But there were also some new guys who accused me of being a cop. LOL. Wish there were actually police officers doing emphasis patrols. Nowhere in sight when I was there. It’s just a full blown drug party. NO FEAR of legal consequences. Councilmember Kshama Sawant (@cmkshama) and CM Tammy Morales (@CMTammyMorales) represent this Asian American neighborhood. But both remain MIA. #Seattle

Jonathan Choe

Journalist and Senior Fellow, Center on Wealth and Poverty
Jonathan Choe is a journalist and Senior Fellow with Discovery Institute's Center on Wealth and Poverty, covering homelessness issues for its Fix Homelessness initiative. Prior to joining Discovery, Choe spent several years as one of the lead reporters at KOMO-TV, consistently the top rated television station in Seattle. His in depth stories on crime and deep dive investigations into the homeless crisis led to measurable results in the community, including changes in public policy. Choe has more than two decades of experience in television news behind the scenes and in front of the camera for ABC, NBC, FOX, CBS, and Tribune. He has also been nominated and honored with multiple industry awards including an Emmy. Choe spent several years teaching classes on emerging media and entrepreneurship to under privileged youth in inner city Chicago. As an independent journalist, Choe also contributes regularly to the Mill Creek View and Lynnwood Times and has reported on exclusive stories in the past year for Daily Wire and The Postmillennial.