By admin 
Private company HQ Security has volunteered to offer free patrols in Sacramento’s Lavender Heights neighborhood, Mayor Kevin McCarty said during a news conference Monday.
Read more All-you-can-eat sushi restaurant opens on Rancho Cordova’s Folsom Boulevard
The news conference took place on the heels of recent late-night attacks in the iconic gay neighborhood.
Joseph “Joey” Sais said that on Sept. 4 a group of men yelled homophobic and racist slurs as he left Badlands and a neighboring nightclub, Faces, then chased him before punching him and knocking him to the ground. A few days later, two women were attacked outside Badlands at about 2:40 a.m.
In December, local leaders held a meeting held at the Sacramento LGBT Community Center weeks after Alvin Prasad was beaten on Halloween night and left comatose. Prasad died in late December.
McCarty, Faces Nightclub owner Terry Sidie and others stepped forward Monday to talk public safety.
“There are unfortunate events across the city, and we want to speak up for the people that are victims and speak up for public safety,” McCarty said.
New security arrangement for Lavender Heights
McCarty and Sidie were joined by HQ Security CEO Aaron Zeff, Securing Communities founder Tonia Tong and TJ Bruce, owner of The Depot, Badlands and Roscoe’s, which are located across K Street from Faces.
McCarty began the news conference by attempting to offer some reassurance about public safety in Lavender Heights.
“One of the messages we want to get out here today is that this area is safe, but it could be safer,” McCarty said.
The mayor said that HQ Security was volunteering “to patrol this area free.” Zeff, a longtime businessman who helped found the Midtown Business Association roughly 25 years ago, said his company was offering around the clock response for businesses in the community.
“We have at least four cars on in the central city 24/7 and during peak times we do have eight vehicles,” Zeff said. The volunteer security service will be provided “as long as we can,” he said.
Sacramento Police already has had a presence in Lavender Heights on weekends. Those who spoke during the press conference also attempted to tout resources aside from the new team. Zeff noted the presence of a closed-circuit television camera on the nearby MARRS Building, which is located diagonally across the street from Faces.
Sidie said that his business can get 1,700 people on a Friday or Saturday night.
“We already, with our entertainment permit have to have … security guards,” Sidie said. “TJ behind me has to have another 10 or 12. We all have lots of security and we have police officers on the corners and the cars sitting behind the building. We’re a very safe community,” said Sidie, pointing out that the security guards are required by their entertainment permit.
Read more Newsom cites pension crisis, vetoes bill to enhance retirement for police and firefighters
Sidie, a highly-visible figure in the LGBTQ+ community with his trademark white cowboy hat, noted how long he has been in business. For decades, it has been with Faces, the landmark midtown club, though he also ran Bojangles, a pioneering gay bar further out from the city’s downtown core. Patrons of that business faced hostility, too, Sidie noted.
“I was at Bojangles when they shot at us from the freeway,” Sidie said. “So there are people that will try to hurt you at some time.”
He offered practical tips.
“Everybody should, like the mayor said, be aware of your surroundings. When you’re out at 2 o’clock in the morning walking home in the dark, don’t walk home alone,” Sidie said.
McCarty spoke to the necessity of the arrangement with HQ Security, saying there were 100 fewer officers than when he’d left the City Council more than a decade ago to serve in the Legislature. He was elected mayor in 2024.
“Every once in a while, you have an unfortunate incident, and we’re working with our police department to minimize those,” McCarty said. “But we don’t have enough police to be at every corner, every part of the city at all hours of the night. So this takes a partnership and we’re grateful that HQ Security has stepped up.”
The mayor also acknowledged a recent group that has formed to patrol Lavender Heights.
““I saw that,” McCarty said. “I love that.”
How McCarty sees the current situation
McCarty acknowledged that there had been an uptick in hate attacks nationally.
“If you look at the organizations who work in this advocacy, they’ve shown, especially under this administration, there have been way more incidents of hate targeting the LGBT community,” McCarty said.
The mayor wasn’t certain there had been a dramatic increase in the number of attacks in Sacramento, though he noted that one attack was too many.
McCarty acknowledged that the attack on Sais, a city employee, had an impact at City Hall.
“He worked at City Hall and so that hit close to home,” McCarty said. “That’s not why we’re stepping up.”
After the news conference, Zeff said he had recently returned from a study mission to Detroit organized by the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.
Read more The Poverty Line: A Sacramento Bee series examining California’s affordability crisis