Seattle business owner concerned about after-hours crowds

Small Seattle businesses concerned over safety

A Seattle business owner is calling on city officials to help curb crowd size in Capitol Hill.

SEATTLE - A Seattle business owner is calling on city officials to help curb crowd size on Capitol Hill, after video surfaced of people taking over a portion of E. Pike near Broadway on Saturday.

"We’re dealing with social anarchy in the streets," said Haq Syasfour. "It’s happening every weekend.

Syasfour owns four businesses in Seattle, including the gas station where this weekend’s crowds gathered.

"They were blocking the entrance," he said. "It stopped us from doing business."

Video shared with FOX 13 shows the large crowds. There was loud music playing, people gathering and dancing in the streets.

But this was not a celebration, according to Syasfour.

"There was pepper spray everywhere," he said. "A fight broke out."

Larry, who works security nearby, said the crowd is a weekly occurrence.

"It always ends with fights," he said.

And it was no different Saturday night, according to witnesses.

"They were throwing bottles at the police and then they left and went back to fighting each other."

FOX 13 reached out to Seattle Police for confirmation but have not yet heard back.

"The police can’t do anything," said Syasfour. "We need to fund them, they need to be able to do their job."

Syasfous is hoping city officials see the video and hear his words.

"This is the job of the city," he said. "They regulate everything. We pay taxes. When it comes to safety, environments to do business, they don’t care."

It’s unclear if there were any arrests or citations.