Hearne: Not Gonna Happen; Riot Weather Update

The dervishes are still whirling…

Kansas City police, Plaza businessmen and city leaders are cranking away behind the scenes trying to come up with a solution for the recent Plaza riots. Kinda like they did in year’s past when Westport spun out of control when thousands of black youth and young adults congregated in Westport, fights broke out and regular paying patrons wary of the scene began to back away.

Will Hot Summer Nights return? Will the city hire DJs and set up party and parking zones outside the more gentrified portions of the city? Will the Plaza convert to a police state on Friday and Saturday nights?

All of the above are now being cussed and discussed.

And according to the experts – Westporters who have been dealing with the issue for upwards of 15 years – they probably have some time before things erupt again.

That’s because cooler spring nighttime temps and/or rain will keep the kids mostly off the streets until the weather warms.

“Absolutely,” says veteran Westport businessman Bill Nigro. “That and depending on any big new movie (at Cinemark) on the Plaza. If there is no big new movie for (adult) kids, it won’t happen. I don’t think it will be an issue this weekend either – it’s not hot enough.

“People in general don’t come out and walk around and gawk when it’s cold or rainy. People don’t go out and stroll in crummy weather. They stroll in nice weather.”