There s normally a couple of pretty good fights when it starts getting warm, he said. Once it gets hot, you know, fights kick off, Benniet said. Temperatures peaked at 74 degrees on Wednesday afternoon. Hot weather really does heat things up, said Jane Williams, a volunteer at Granny s House, 302-304 Trinity Place. It s unbearably hot in those housing units, especially the ones without air conditioning units, and many of them don t have them.
Many residents also believe a lack of after-school activities contributed to the fights.
They cite the closing of the Blind Boone Center last December when the contract between the Boys and Girls Club and the Columbia Housing Authority ended. I think they need more of them, she said. If they don t put their minds to something positive, they re just going to go out and gang up with the guys. Fun City Youth Academy is a neighborhood program that offers after-school and summer activities for youths ages 6 to 14. Granny s House, which will open May 14, will offer mentoring and programs for children from kindergarten to sixth grade.