Rodeo Dallas owner says bar is being scapegoated as source of Deep Ellum crime

Posted by dallasmorningnews@reddit | Dallas | View on Reddit | 19 comments

Our Everton Bailey Jr. writes:

An owner of Rodeo Dallas, a Deep Ellum bar that a judge ordered last week to be shut down indefinitely over public safety concerns, posted a video Wednesday stating the business is being unfairly blamed for crime in the area.

In the four-minute video posted Wednesday to the bar’s Instagram page, Joseph “JD” Ybanez calls the lawsuit that led to the closure a targeted effort by a nearby property owner to gentrify the neighborhood by driving out Black and Latino customers and boosting property values.

“They’ve created this narrative that we are the cause of the crime when the streets are the issue,” Ybanez said.

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