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Downtown merchants urge meeting with police after 'swarm' at First Friday; city agrees to convene
Summary
Merchants told the Havre de Grace council that a recent First Friday saw a fluid "swarm" of teenagers that rattled storefronts and raised safety concerns. The mayor and council agreed to set a meeting with police and economic development staff to discuss mitigation before the next event.
Merchants and residents urged the Havre de Grace mayor and city council on May 4 to organize a meeting with police and economic development staff after a recent First Friday event produced what one merchant described as a "swarm" of young people that approached storefronts and left merchants worried about safety.
Joseph Smith, who gave his address for the record as 110 Flying Ebony, said the group — "maybe 50 young individuals, mostly teenagers" — moved like a flock and lingered near storefronts on the 200 block of North Washington and nearby Pennington Avenue. "They were banging up against his window," Smith said of one merchant's report; "he said they were climbing up onto the tables in front of his business," which prompted concern that a window could have been broken.
The petition from downtown merchants included two immediate requests: expand the footprint and timing of an upcoming Printers Fair permit (a separate agenda item) and convene an earlier ad hoc meeting among merchants, the police department, and tourism/economic development staff to discuss ways to reduce risks at future First Fridays. Smith asked that any merchant meeting happen sooner than a planned downtown merchants meeting scheduled for May 21 so there would be time to plan for the next First Friday.
Mayor Martin and Dr. Richie, the city's director of administration, responded that staff would arrange a meeting including Major Alton or the police chief and the economic development liaison, Bridget Johnson, and invited merchants to coordinate with city staff. The mayor and several council members emphasized the event's positive economic impact while acknowledging limits on what the city can do to control juvenile behavior.
Chief Kress and other officials noted enforcement and operational options are constrained by state law and practical limits, but council members proposed exploring measures such as adjusted hours, controlled barricading patterns, and additional off-duty or mutual‑aid police support. No formal policy was adopted at the meeting; council and staff committed to scheduling a merchant‑police discussion before the next First Friday.
The council also heard related public comments urging broad representation from affected streets (St. John, Pennington, North Washington) so mitigation planning does not omit adjacent business owners. The administration said city staff would follow up with merchants to schedule the meeting.
The meeting produced no vote or ordinance on the issue; it concluded with a pledge to convene interested merchants, police leadership, and tourism/economic development staff for a focused planning discussion.
