Downtown Cincinnati hotels, shops and restaurants will remember 2001 as one of their most dismal years. But was the slump triggered by fears spurred by April's riots and an ensuing summer of violence, or a quest for social justice? That's harder to measure.

BOYCOTT DEMANDS

Organizers of the international boycott against conventions coming to Cincinnati identified several demands in four areas the city must address before they will end the boycott.   They include:   1. End social and economic apartheid by funding poorer neighborhoods, job training programs and improving public health.   2. Restore public accountability to the police department by empowering the citizens police review panel, demanding Chief Tom Streicher's resignation and hiring more black officers.   3. Support and enforce civil and human rights by expanding a U.S. Department of Justice probe to include the Hamilton County prosecutor's office, eliminating racial profiling and repealing Issue 3, a city charter amendment prohibiting special protections for homosexuals.   4. Enact city government and election reform by creating City Council districts, passing civil-service reform and requiring city employees to live within the city.   For a complete list of boycott demands, visit www.cincyboycott.org/home.html.

        It has been three months since 14 groups, including the Black United Front, called for an international boycott of Cincinnati's shops, restaurants, hotels and convention center.

        There is no question that downtown has suffered since April. But there's also no direct evidence that points to the boycott as the reason.

        “No group has cited the boycott” when canceling an event, said Julie Harrison, spokeswoman for the Greater Cincinnati Convention and Visitors Bureau.

        Just two groups have canceled conventions because of the riots, costing the city an estimated $1.2 million in economic loss.

        The 1,200-member Organization of Black Airline Pilots Inc. moved its August 2002 convention to Atlanta from Cincinnati. And the 250-member Kroger Co. managers meeting also blamed the riots for its decision to cancel an October convention.

        To put the riot-related convention loss in perspective, consider the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. More than 140 business and other groups dropped or delayed conventions here after the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks.

        The boycott organizers are hesitant to judge the effort's initial effects, said the Rev. J.W. Jones, chairman of Coalition for Justice and Equality.

        “I don't get into phrases of success or failure,” the Rev. Mr. Jones said. “We realized it would be a long, drawn-out process.”

        The Rev. Mr. Jones said the boycott remains in place because the city has done little to address police reform and economic and racial issues that led to April's riots. Organizers created a Web site listing demands and news articles published since April.

"Cincinnati is the enemy'

        Back in July, the only strategy that the boycott's organizers named was a plan to encourage groups to hold conventions elsewhere.

        They promised to contact every scheduled convention weekly and ask them to avoid the city unless aggressive steps are taken to address police, racial and economic issues.

        But the organizers aren't saying whether they followed through on that promise.

        “Why would I give you my strategy to win a war?” asked Juleana Frierson, chief of staff for Black United Front. “Do not give your enemies information. And the city of Cincinnati is the enemy.”

Slow business

        Though no reliable sales figures exist for downtown restaurants and retail shops, several establishments say business lags last year's pace.

        The business owners say a slowing economy, sluggish convention business, the Comair strike and poor Reds attendance are the primary factors that dropped downtown hotel occupancy this year below 50 percent through August compared to 56 percent last year.

        The riots also have had a major impact. But the boycott that followed had little effect.

        “I really have kind of forgotten about that (boycott) in all honesty,” said Gary Wachs, general manager of the Garfield Suites Hotel. “If you bring up New York, the riots, the Comair strike, I don't think we've lost anything from that (boycott).”

        While business and civic leaders are quick to dismiss the boycott's effectiveness, some are angry that it was called in the first place.

        Mayor Charlie Luken's campaign advertisements attacked the boycott as a reckless way of healing a city scarred by rioting. Downtown Cincinnati Inc. also launched an advertising campaign that countered the boycott.

        “It just hurts your image,” said Rick Greiwe, DCI's chief executive officer. “A combination of many things made 2001 a bad year for business on many levels.”

Future will tell

        Because conventions are typically planned well in advance, it could take years before the bureau can judge whether the boycott pinched business.

        The Urban League is still evaluating whether to hold its August 2003 convention in Cincinnati, one of the city's largest meetings planned over the next two years.

        It's expected to generate $3.4 million for the Cincinnati economy, with 4,000 visitors taking 8,745 hotel room-nights over five days.

        “I think we would like to have the conference come here,” said Sheila Adams, president of the local chapter. “That decision should be made by the end of the year.”

        A more immediate indication is whether groups are now booking future meetings.

        From January through September, the bureau logged 30 conventions versus 39 during the same period one year ago.

        Those conventions are expected to generate 102,650 hotel and motel room nights, a 19.5 percent drop from a year ago.

        That means fewer out-of-town customers for restaurants, retailers and hotels.

        Ms. Harrison understands news clips depicting Cincinnati as a city teeming with racism and tension didn't help. But she doubts conventions ditched the city because of the requests of a handful of groups.

        “It has been an awful year,” said Nat Comisar, chairman of the Maisonette Restaurant Group. “Is it from the boycotts? My gut is to say no.”

Hard times

        Like other downtown businesses, Mr. Comisar's two restaurants have struggled to make the best of a difficult year.

        Dinner crowds at La Normandie have thinned out, he said, but business at the Maisonette has remained steady.

        Many downtown restaurants and hotels have laid off workers to ride out the economic crunch.

        “We laid off seven people because of the riots in April,” said the Garfield Suites' Mr. Wachs. “It was a big change for all of us.”

        Because hotels, restaurants and retailers draw many employees from the predominately black neighborhoods surrounding downtown, the boycott's success would likely harm those it intended to help.

        The Rev. Mr. Jones acknowledged that downtown businesses employ many from nearby neighborhoods.

        “There is always a concern for people being inconvenienced or impacted by the boycott,” he said. “But there's always the greater issue” of economic and racial disparity.

        Many small business owners question why they're being targeted.

        Mike Gilbert, owner of Dodd's Jewelers on Fourth Street, said he, too, has been a victim of city policy. His store was relocated from Sixth and Race to make way for a drug store that hasn't been built.

        “If anybody is trying to get even with the city, going after small business isn't the way to do it,” Mr. Gilbert said. “Small businesses are angry with the city, too.”

Boycott lessons

        If Cincinnati wants to know the economic harm a boycott can bring, it need only look to its past.

        The Queen City was targeted by some groups after voters overwhelmingly approved Issue 3, a 1993 charter amendment blocking laws protecting the rights of homosexuals.

        Eight groups cited Issue 3 as the reason for dropping conventions, costing Cincinnati $24.6 million.

        The bureau estimates Issue 3 cost another $28.8 million in potential business — conventions that chose a competing city over Cincinnati, citing the charter amendment as a reason.

        The evidence of economic harm was so overwhelming that some business groups — including the convention bureau — have joined church groups to pay for a study to see whether voters' attitudes about gay rights have changed.

        Boycotts over racial issues also have been effective in other parts of the country. Powerful civil rights groups, such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, led a boycott of South Carolina for flying the Confederate flag over the state capitol.

        But groups supporting the Cincinnati boycott, such as the Cincinnati Zapatista Coalition and International Socialist Organization, lack the clout of well-established civil rights groups.

        They will need to persuade other groups, like the Urban League, to join their cause.

        The Urban League's national board will consider Ms. Adams' opinion on Cincinnati's reforms when it decides later this year whether to keep the 2003 convention here.

        “I think we're working toward improvement,” Ms. Adams said. “It doesn't mean we're there yet. I hope we are going in the right direction.”

Are we ready for biological or chemical attack?
Tristate churches see flocks increase
Pilots consider extreme measures to thwart terrorists
Marine unit itching for active duty
Boycott not felt as force in city
Magnet school sign-ups to be held on-site
Needy kids, foreign students meld with family
PULFER: Rickety school just isn't sporting
Road builder sues Cincinnati
'Stop the Violence Rally' in OTR
BRONSON: Imagine
Giving, self-sacrifice distinguish area teens
Good News: Messages hand-delivered to NY
UC leader proposes contract
Deficit at golf course
Law would regulate trees
Local Digest
Plans solidify for park
Restaurant vial wasn't hazardous
Thomas More repairs bottom line
Young supporters join Ky. campaign
CROWLEY: Kenton Co. race will make for a long year
Kentucky Digest
Port Bellevue poised to open
Col. Sanders' daughter dies
Columbus police chief in trouble for remark
Fines for chickens excessive
Hearing ordered in murder
Man agrees to plea in crash that killed fetus
Ohio may get Aryan headquarters
Parents die in crash; three hurt