Mayor Andre Dickens sent a message on Wednesday to "Stop Cop City" protesters and “anarchists” who continue to commit arson, damage property, and trespass: “Newsflash: The training center is well on its way. We will continue and complete it this year. Construction is happening on the site every day.”
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens held a youth town hall on Tuesday at The Gathering Spot where students at Atlanta Public Schoolsand Atlanta universities got the opportunity to ask the mayor and city officials questions concerning their community.
At the Woodruff Arts Center in Midtown Atlanta, Mayor Andre Dickens spoke to the business community about reducing crime in the city, reflecting on the "Year of the Youth" initiative, affordable housing, law enforcement and economic development and investment.
Mayor Andre Dickens pledged to clear the encampments after numerous fires believed to have been set by unhoused people have damaged bridges and closed roadways in the city.
A man believed to be one of the opponents of a planned police and firefighter training facility in Atlanta has been arrested on charges of torching eight police motorcycles last summer. The attack was one of about two dozen acts of arson that officials have linked to protests against a facility that opponents call "Cop City."
The mayor was eager to promote a 21% drop in homicides and a new community with 40 units for unhoused people and fielded questions about the Atlanta police training facility and restaurant permitting.
Collaboration between the city of Atlanta and the Georgia General Assembly played a key role in driving down crime rates across the city and especially in Buckhead during 2023, according to Mayor Andre Dickens and Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns.
Mayor Andre Dickens signed an executive order on Wednesday morning to spend $4.6 million to expand shelters, sites, services, security, and warming centers for those experiencing homelessness in the city of Atlanta.
Officials say the longstanding and at times violent protests against Atlanta's planned police and firefighter training center are partially responsible for a nearly $20 million rise in costs connected with the project. Atlanta Deputy Chief Operating Officer has told City Council members on Wednesday that the 85-acre project is now expected to cost $109.65 million.
Deputy Chief Operating Officer LaChandra Burks told the finance committee that the frequency and intensity of the attacks in opposition to the training center – including a recent defacing of Manuel’s Tavern – have contributed to an increase in the estimated cost for the training center from $90 million to $109.6 million, according to a news release.
