OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Dozens of Omaha residents gathered at Mayor Ewing's first town hall meeting.
Mayor Ewing outlined his vision for creating "One Omaha" during the community meeting.
"I don't view this city as a patchwork of neighborhoods or north Omaha or south Omaha, or west Omaha, I view it as one Omaha," Ewing said.
The mic was turned to neighbors to ask questions, where some shared in frustrations and challenges of the streetcar construction.
"Why do we have to rip up the whole city, like, work on downtown, then do Midtown, then do Blackstone, let us breathe," said JaRee Johnson, owner of Antidote Salon in Blackstone.
Shannon owns Nodest Home Plants store on Harney Street. Reporter Molly Hudson stopped by Thursday afternoon after seeing that they were deciding to move locations. Shannon shared with the mayor that they've seen a significant drop in sales.
"I decided to move out of my space, because my business is dying, yeah, my sales are currently down 65%," said Shannon Beck, owner of Nodest Home Plants.
Johnson welcomed Shannon to the neighborhood but shared in the concern for the future of her business.
"Small businesses are supposed to be like the heart and soul of the city, the backbone, right? Would you say? I feel like our spines are being broken," Johnson said.
They asked about support, financially.
Ewing said he can talk to the Chamber, but can't make any promises, encouraging neighbors to support small.
"It's really difficult to get around sometimes, but if you are determined to support a business, then you can get there," Ewing said.
Ewing did meet with business owners after the town hall.
