Some Burlington City residents say police foot patrols downtown would boost visitation. Local business owners agree.

Bordered by a riverfront park to the north and Broad Street to the south, a roughly quarter-mile stretch of High Street has long been the commercial heart of Burlington City.

Today, the historic corridor is still home to the traditional businesses that locals expect downtown, like law offices and insurance agents, but the street is also showing signs of new life as taprooms, art studios, and more have begun moving in.

Yet mixed in among all of these businesses, both old and new, remains a smattering of closed or vacant storefronts. Tucked between bustling barber shops and antique stores, some buildings are boarded up entirely while others still boast sun-faded window displays.

It’s these empty storefronts that are, in part, holding Burlington back from reaching its full potential, according to the New London Alliance (NLA), a neighborhood group based just south of Broad Street.

The group argues that the number of inactive storefronts makes the area feel unwelcome for pedestrians, especially at night, said NLA member Donnamarie Mazzola.

In an effort to address this, the group is now calling for dedicated police foot patrols downtown — not necessarily because crime is increasing, Mazzola said, but to help create a more comfortable environment for locals and visitors alike.

“We’re asking the city to consider restoring regular police foot patrols and community policing downtown,” Mazzola said. “We believe having officers present and engaging with residents, businesses, and visitors can help strengthen both public safety and the relationship between the police and the community.”

Simply knowing cops are walking around downtown might be enough to make people feel more safe to do the same, she said.

“We have a huge problem with abandoned buildings and absentee landlords so our downtown is nowhere near the kind of vibrant downtown that people would love,” she said. “And it kind of detracts from that sense of safety and walkability that people really come here searching for.”

Since the NLA began circulating a community petition at the end of July, Mazzola said the group has collected a few hundred signatures in support of the foot patrols.

The petition itself, Mazzola said, is essentially a way to come to city officials with hard data in hand that demonstrates that there is a desire for these services beyond just the NLA.

“We’re hoping that [the petition] sends a signal to the mayor that this is an important priority for the community and that he then kicks off an initiative with the stakeholders and community input,” she said.

While it’s still just an idea, some longtime High Street business owners are already on board.

After more than two decades operating Virtu Millinery & Accessories on the corner of Union Street, Marie Salter recently began locking her front door after a frightening incident with someone who appeared to be suffering from mental illness, she said.

If police were walking around the area throughout the day, it might prevent a similar situation from happening again, she said.

“I would welcome it,” Salter said of possible foot patrols outside her boutique hat shop. “I could keep my door open.”

Down the block, Philip Augustyn, another longtime High Street business owner, agrees that it would be a welcome sight.

Alongside his wife, Maryanne, the couple has operated Philip’s Antiques & Furniture at 307 High St. for more than 20 years — enough time to remember “years and years ago” when police would regularly walk by, Augustyn said.

“I’ve been here a long time,” he said. “There’s not a lot of crime down here to begin with but I think people would just feel better to see the police walking up and down. The merchants, plus any of the tourists or local people, they’d like to see the police on patrol.”

A few stores down, Olde City Quilts co-owner Rob Engime also looks back fondly on a time when foot patrols were commonplace in the area.

In the early years of their shop, Engime said, he and his wife would sometimes get calls from police officers who noticed their storefront was unlocked as they made their nightly patrols. Once, when cops found the door cracked open, they walked a police dog through the property just to make sure no one had broken in, he said.

There was a neighborly energy with law enforcement at the time, he said, in large part because locals often recognized officers from growing up in the city.

“It was great,” Engime said of that time. “It did have a sense that it was much friendlier.”

After 20 years on what he calls “the busiest street that doesn’t go anywhere,” Engime said that he still loves the neighborhood but would welcome the return of the foot patrols he used to know.

“It was a lot of fun and we felt a connection with them,” he said. “But now you never see them.”

It is unclear when Burlington last had dedicated foot patrols downtown or if the department currently has the staffing capabilities to have any officers on foot. The Burlington City Police Department did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

“Obviously I’m sure any police department would love to have enough staffing to have somebody on every corner,” said Burlington Mayor Barry Conaway. “But we know that’s not reality.”

When asked about the NLA’s petition, Conaway said that he is unable to comment more specifically on the matter until it is officially filed with the city.

But he did share the group’s desire to bring more pedestrians downtown.

“Every small town, including Burlington, wants to have more foot traffic downtown,” Conaway said, noting that the River Line and nearby bus stops give the city a unique opportunity to bring people in.

Amid the community’s efforts to boost foot traffic along High Street, the belief held by many residents and business owners — that crime downtown is not increasing — is hard to verify.

The city did not respond to a public records request seeking crime statistics specifically for this stretch of High Street and instead referred the request to the New Jersey State Police. The state police in turn pointed to Burlington’s citywide crime statistics that are compiled annually.

Still collecting signatures, the NLA plans to finally bring the petition to city officials in the fall, Mazzola said. In the meantime, she said, they’re working to get the proposal in front of as many residents as possible.

“In Burlington, there are pockets of community groups that are very, very interested in making Burlington better, and the NLA is really one of those groups,” Mazzola said.

“There’s just so much potential that’s been untapped,” she said.