CINCINNATI — Brother Tim Sucher has carefully unpacked his worldwide collection of nearly 100 nativity scenes, hoping they will attract vacationers to St. Francis Seraphim Church in Over-the-Rhine.

“We all come out here at Christmas,” Sucher said. “We have lots of trees, we have a Santa collection, we have a Dickensian village. And we also have a living nativity scene outside, so we have life-size people and animals. We have sheep, goats and donkeys.

Inside the church, which will celebrate its 165th anniversary in December, it’s a magical time of year.

Ray Pfeffer

Outside the church, dozens of people sit on steps or milk crates in the shaded plaza at Liberty and Vine streets. White graffiti is engraved on the stone of churches. People sell and use drugs discreetly in the entrances of the buildings surrounding the church, undeterred by passing pedestrians.

WCPO has been following the development of this neighborhood for months, as Cincinnati police and city leaders attempt new and repeated strategies to stabilize the area from violence, drugs and blight.

“We are in great difficulty here because of the situation that happened in front of our church,” said Sucher, a Franciscan who has been here for 19 years. “There were always people on the steps of the church, but over the last three years there have been more than just people on the steps…there are open containers, there are probably drugs that circulates there. It really got out of hand.

Ray Pfeffer

In response, church leaders are installing surveillance cameras in front and on the sides of their buildings. They also plan to hire security guards to clear the crowds before visitors arrive to view the Christmas displays.

“What does it look like when you have a lot of people drinking and doing things in front of your church,” Sucher asked. “What kind of impression does that make?”

While the southern part of the Over-the-Rhine Historic District is home to the city’s best restaurants and trendiest bars, life is very different a few blocks north, across Liberty Street .

An open-air drug market just blocks from St. Francis Seraph Church has become so dangerous that Cincinnati police set up temporary barricades on Republic Street in May for six months to block traffic.

Ray Pfeffer

“I suspect that the barricade has hampered the drug trade, but it is also clear that drug market activity continues in the surrounding area, and efforts to disrupt that activity will also continue – both by law enforcement and other means,” said Captain Matthew Hammer, oversees Cincinnati Police District 1. “The barricade will soon be removed.”

When WCPO visited the barricaded area and nearby streets on Thursday, we observed many people who appeared to be using drugs mid-morning, and others standing next to the barricades carrying backpacks and intently watching who walked and drove.

“Based on my observations, I believe there have been slight improvements on the 1700 block of Republic and Green Street as well, but some additional challenges on the 1600 block of Republic,” Hammer said. “Data from this immediate vicinity does not show a clear trend at the moment – ​​neither upward nor downward. We continue to monitor this.

Ray Pfeffer

Two years after police here launched the PIVOT program, intended to address small areas of chronic violence, Hammer said in May there had been a 45 percent drop in gunshot victims.

“In District 1, violent crime is down 10% from last year. Shootings are down 6%,” Hammer said.

So WCPO asked, “Is the neighborhood safe?” »

“I would say it’s getting safer,” said Kevin Hassey, president of the Over-the-Rhine Community Council. “More foot patrols would be helpful. I think they’re understaffed, so it’s difficult, but it would be great to have more police in the area. They just have a deterrent effect when people see the police all the time.”

Ray Pfeffer

The police are relying on technology to fill the manpower gap and have signed a contract with Fusus to connect 500 public and private cameras in Over-the-Rhine and the West End.

Sucher would also like to see more police near his church.

“People come here all the time with open containers. It’s against the law,” Sucher said. “You know we don’t have any trespassing signs…unless there are consequences on your signs or something, whatever.”

Sucher knows of a time when police cited a person for criminal trespassing, and he recently went to court over that case.

He estimated that several hundred people have illegally trespassed on church property since the church put up signs and painted a property line a few months ago.

Ray Pfeffer

“I think citations don’t work here because people don’t pay them anyway,” Sucher said. “I’ve seen officers here, instead of citing people – tell them to pour that beer right now. I think it has a bigger effect on people than just giving them a quote.

Although many residents do not feel safer, they believe the neighborhood is now cleaner.

Cincinnati Center City Development Corp., known as 3CDC, launched a cleanup operation with more than 100 field workers a few weeks ago. The major cleaning is now planned four times a year, in collaboration with the Model group, which also revitalizes many unoccupied buildings.

Ray Pfeffer

Crews removed 210 graffiti, 338 stickers and posters, 124 bags of trash, pressure washed four city blocks, mulched more than 100 trees and pulled weeds from 35 locations in North Over-the-Rhine. Afterwards, 3CDC brought two cleanup ambassadors to the area daily, sweeping, picking up trash, removing stickers from signs, and wiping away small graffiti.

“That’s one of the reasons we started this cleaning program, just to have more eyes, ears, visibility and maintenance here,” said David Vissman, vice president of operations from 3CDC. “We believe that by welcoming the ambassadors here on a daily basis, we have seen a real impact on waste.”

Ray Pfeffer

Sucher said the cleanup ambassadors are “a real blessing” and have made a huge difference in the appearance of the neighborhood.

He hopes the colder weather will discourage crowds from leaving church grounds and noted those people are mostly not homeless. Many drive up, unload coolers and chairs and spend all day outside the church, he said.

The parish is not abandoning its mission to serve the homeless. Instead of using the church for outreach, it will rely on St. Francis Seraph Ministry, which offers a soup kitchen, foot care and other services, Sucher said.

While most parishioners don’t want to fence off the church steps, Sucher said they are considering cutting down a large shade tree and applying for a grant to make landscaping changes that would block the crowds, such as installing rocks and large planters.

“Crowd problems in front of Saint-François Church are sometimes a significant problem. Other times it doesn’t,” Hammer said. “For several weeks it seemed to me that conditions were improving, but recently there have been cases where many people have gathered here again. We continue to work with the Church and seek long-term solutions.

Ray Pfeffer

As for the barricades, Sucher said that while at first they seemed to deter drug trafficking, he doesn’t think they are effective today.

“Since they’ve been up there, they’re a lot more comfortable driving up there.” They park on the street, even in no-parking zones,” Sucher said. “There are still a lot more people.”

The Living Nativity at St. Francis Seraph Church, Liberty and Vine streets, will be open daily from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., beginning November 29. The Christmas and Nativity displays inside the church will be open to the public on Fridays from 4 a.m. to 12 p.m. 7 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 7 p.m., according to Brother Tim Sucher.