Union Plaza problems

weekend, another ugly incident at union plaza in downtown el paso. this time it was a stabbing, bringing more concern about what’s become one of the most popular areas of town to party. that’s where we find reporter darren hunt live tonight. you’ll find this story only on abc-seven. rick/estela, business owners in this area were hesitant to speak with us about this latest incident … but city rep cortney niland told me a solution is on the way. “union plaza has come a lon way.” nevan christi owns rocketbuster boots, in union plaza. she says she loves the area, but has grown tired of recent incidents. “the clubs started coming in an we don’t really see that but we see the after effects … so we’ve seen the trash, we’ve seen the broken glass and all that.” “according to police a figh erupted here at the 1914 lounge early sunday morning, spilling over into the streets of union plaza, and the resulting in the stabbing of a 22- year-old … now according to bar owners in the area, many who would not speak to us on camera, one of the big issues in the area was club new york.” “recently with the onslaught of club new york and sort of trying to get a younger crowd, then here comes the mess again.” “one time is too many, and so that’s why we’re taking the necessary steps to address the issue.” cit rep cortney niland says help is on the way. “with the amount of investments that we’ve made in downtown, with the amount of private sector investments that have been made in downtown … its imperative that we put forth the resources to protect those investments.” niland said a new downtown police patrol is in the works. “luckily for us we were able to identify some funding in this last budget session and we will be able to put extra officers in an academy this spring that will then go toward the creation of a downtown force.” niland said she i confident there will be fewer incidents once the patrol begins. “when they have hired off dut police officers, when they have that security down there on a regular basis, they see dramatic improvements.” although there was a stabbing in the area over the weekend … i’m told incidents in union plaza have been quelled quite a bit since club new york was shut down a couple of months ago. niland told me they hope to have the new police patrols down here by the end of spring. estela? ok, darren, thank you.