While travelling around our marvellous cities, i couldn't help but recognise something that is not so marvellous. In the past year or so we have seen a rapid decline in activity within our city business districts. The lack of activity there seems to be getting worse each day. I am not talking about specific cities, i am talking about all of them. I decided to do a little project to highlight the situation and in no particular order here are my findings:

City district: St.Louis
Number of businesses: 58
Businesses visited today: 1
Businesses visited in past week: 6
Businesses visited in past month: 10
Businesses visited in past 3 months: 16
Businesses visited in past 6 months: 29
Businesses not visited for over 6 months: 29

50% of businesses haven't been visited in over 6 months.

City district: New Orleans
Number of businesses: 66
Businesses visited today: 0
Businesses visited in past week: 10
Businesses visited in past month: 14
Businesses visited in past 3 months: 22
Businesses visited in past 6 months: 35
Businesses not visited for over 6 months: 31

Only 1/3 of businesses visited in the past 3 months.

City district: Philly
Number of businesses: 18
Businesses visited today: 1
Businesses visited in past week: 2
Businesses visited in past month: 5
Businesses visited in past 3 months: 15
Businesses visited in past 6 months: 18
Businesses not visited for over 6 months: 0

By far the least active district, although there are no crews there.

City district: New York
Number of businesses: 88
Businesses visited today: 2
Businesses visited in past week: 5
Businesses visited in past month: 12
Businesses visited in past 3 months: 25
Businesses visited in past 6 months: 38
Businesses not visited for over 6 months: 50

Just over 1/4 of businesses visited in past 3 months.

City district: Chicago
Number of businesses: 61
Businesses visited today: 2
Businesses visited in past week: 8
Businesses visited in past month: 10
Businesses visited in past 3 months: 24
Businesses visited in past 6 months: 34
Businesses not visited for over 6 months: 27

More than 50% of businesses not visited for over 6 months.

City district: Los Angeles
Number of businesses: 45
Businesses visited today: 3
Businesses visited in past week: 4
Businesses visited in past month: 19
Businesses visited in past 3 months: 23
Businesses visited in past 6 months: 30
Businesses not visited for over 6 months: 15

1/3 of businesses not visited for over 6 months.

City district: Detroit
Number of businesses: 49
Businesses visited today: 0
Businesses visited in past week: 2
Businesses visited in past month: 6
Businesses visited in past 3 months: 13
Businesses visited in past 6 months: 24
Businesses not visited for over 6 months: 25

Just over half of businesses not visited in past 6 months.

City district: Las Vegas
Number of businesses: 49
Businesses visited today: 1
Businesses visited in past week: 7
Businesses visited in past month: 12
Businesses visited in past 3 months: 23
Businesses visited in past 6 months: 31
Businesses not visited for over 6 months: 18

Just under half of businesses visited in past 3 months

Total no. of businesses in ALL cities: 428
Visited today: 10
Visited in past week: 45
Visited in past month: 108
Visited in past 3 months: 161
Visited in past 6 months: 239
Not visited for over 6 months: 195

Only around a 1/4 of businesses in all cities have been visited in the past month.

Now, just so i can make it clear my aim was not to compare the cities against eachother, neither was it intended to show which cities have the best/worse business districts. I am not trying to embarass any cities in particular, that would be dis-respectful and most probably suicidal. Also, i do not really care about how many businesses a city has, i don't care which city has the most active district, nor do i care what city has the least active district. My aim was simply to show the statistics which highlights just how dire activity in the business districts has become in the 8 cities.

Half of the businesses around are owned by people that are dead or retired. A lot of businesses appear abandoned - why are they still there? Also, it seems to be the same people over and over visiting certain businesses. So, i am here to ask you, why is the business district in such a poor state? Some key points i would like to know are as follows:

* Why does the business district not attract much attention?

* Are the businesses there worthy of visiting?

* What can be done to increase more activitiy in the districts?

* What can business owners do to increase attract visitors?

Thanks in advance for any feedback given.

~ I would also like to thank my fellow family members, Simplicity, SalvatoreMaranzano, PhreakinPanda, Isacaron and AizlynnLombardi for helping me collect and colloborate the statistics.

Fernando steps down and awaits the feedback off the peoples.

Just out of curiousity can you tell us how many of those businesses are ran by dead people? I know myself I am not a fan of attending businesses that have no living person tending it. It's hard to get service from the dead I find.

Melis, they are owned, not ran by dead people. Unless of course the business has been taken on by their next of kin, or someone else. Which a lot of them have not.

I see why they call you crazy.

They can be owned but not ran by anyone hence why there would be no one attending it. It's just my opinion anyways.

Hard as it is for me to say...she makes a good point...

Laughs at his little joke before continuing speaking

I myself usually will avoid a business if the owner is dead and it's obvious their son or daughter didn't take over the running of that business. No sense visiting somewhere that I won't get service in.

Fair question in my opinion, Mr. Torres. The statistics include businesses owned by dead people, which might not even be visited anymore due to what you just stated; "Unless of course the business has been taken on by their next of kin, or someone else. Which a lot of them have not."

I'm not sure why they're still there, but including them in your statistics might make the business districts look worse than they actually are, stating how many of those businesses are currently owned by someone who's dead, would probably make your statistics a bit more accurate since no one would bother visiting a dead persons business, unless someone is actually tending to it.

It would be nice for some of these businesses to be removed by City Hall, especially ones that haven't been visited for months and are owned by dead people, but that's something we as Mafiosi cannot control, and possibly something that the city leaders would have to take up with City Hall if they wish to do so.

Silvio shook his head out of embarrassment and walked over to Mr. Torres, it had been a while since he had been out here, and had forgotten the old ways of attending speeches like these, he smiled at Mr. Torres and nodded slightly.

"You'll have to excuse the way I came out here, just hearing my voice might have startled you, I was actually hiding in that alleyway over there. But I decided it would be better if you could actually see who it is that was speaking, so here I am, and the name is Silvio, friends call me Silenzio. And I will answer your questions as well, and not just point out that what Miss Melis asked was a fair question."


* Why does the business district not attract much attention?

OOC: Sadly, the way I came out here might be one reason, seen plenty of it in the streets nowadays, it seems to me like the whole role-playing has declined since my bloodline was last here, and both streets and business districts are meant to be strictly role-playing... But just "speaking" isn't really role-playing, which might or might not have part in why people are no longer attracted to them, people who might role-play properly could be tired of the above and just won't bother, or maybe those who have only been doing the whole "speaking" thing won't bother with businesses because they'd actually have to role-play, but who knows.. I could be wrong, but that might be one reason among many others that I can't think of.

* Are the businesses there worthy of visiting?

Can't really comment as I haven't bothered that much other than in LA, and I rather not comment as it would most likely seem biased. But the first question and my answer to it is why I haven't really bothered that much with the streets as well, until today, so I owe you a thanks, I guess.

* What can be done to increase more activitiy in the districts?

Encouragement, and possibly teaching those who do not know how to role-play, and the people who could do anything about that in my opinion is whoever is leading said Mafiosi, start within the family to encourage your own to try and role-play better, maybe even have someone assigned for that job to help new players.

* What can business owners do to increase attract visitors?

Throw a competition or two maybe? Don't know to be honest, there's many ways to attract more visitors, using the streets as a tool is one, making it a unique business is another, something different from everything else out there. Those are just a few ways, probably a lot more that could be done.

Silvio finished and looked at Mr. Torres, "I hope that answers your questions, it's how I see it at the moment, and I hope you get more people to answer as well as I'd like to hear their opinions on this 'issue'." He said and took a step back as he looked around to see if anyone else had something to say, or if Mr. Torres had something.

Well thankyou Silenzio for putting the time and effort in your contribution.

I agree with what you said about city hall stepping in to remove the 'dead' businesses, they are really an eyesore and a further blight on our districts. Maybe if they were removed the districts would look a lot more healthier and more people would visit. That would definetely be a start to revamping the city business districts.

I happen to think what Melis has said is a fair point also and and again ties in with the proposal regarding city hall stepping in as you mentioned.

Competitions would be a good idea, maybe that could help motivate people more. Of course that would be down to the Godfathers and possibly business owners themselves.

Fernando smiles at Silenzio and nods.

I agree with the city hall thing, also I've been to LA and noticed that alot of the "dead" businesses have been burned down. But it would be alot better if City Hall stepped in.

Sadly, the way I came out here might be one reason, seen plenty of it in the streets nowadays, it seems to me like the whole role-playing has declined since my bloodline was last here, and both streets and business districts are meant to be strictly role-playing... But just "speaking" isn't really role-playing, which might or might not have part in why people are no longer attracted to them, people who might role-play properly could be tired of the above and just won't bother, or maybe those who have only been doing the whole "speaking" thing won't bother with businesses because they'd actually have to role-play, but who knows.. I could be wrong, but that might be one reason among many others that I can't think of.

Silenzio, I could not agree with you more. Infact i think that is the problem. Although so many people do come here without having had bloodties to the old country or to this thing of ours in general. I know countless, well not countless, but many people that their father was not a mobster. I believe it is time to teach these young people and older people how our life is run. I am actually a professor if you did not know.

SINGER nods.

With that i have opened my school and if you see someone who might need a little more education on this life just send them my way it is completely free of charge. This to might help increase the activity within all the glorious cities of America. Here is the address Silenzio to my school if youd like to send some people that way.

Professor SINGERS school!


SINGER pulls out an address book and hands it over to the man. Smiling he Looks over at The rest of the gathered mafioso.

I believe Mr. Torres that your idea for a Business competition would be great and be very helpful. I would like to take part in any sort of meeting to help in that.

SINGER sits down and looks at the newspaper.

Tony writes a few notes down.. taking special interest in the stats for Las Vegas as he shakes his head as he looks at the low numbers for his city

We need to get those damn old business's out of town where the owner died and never returned and the place went to dust like most people said above, although there is a fine line between shut down and slow and we must not ruin the work of the slow business makers, but push them to making their business's boom or they run the chance of getting shut down also.

I know I have asked a member of city hall about burning some of our business's down and was told we couldnt due to some internal connections with the IRS etc etc (I was told we couldnt).

Until that time.. we really need to get some new business's in there and do our best to get them active, especially in Las Vegas with all our casinos and gambling activity there is no reason for us to at least have a good business front.

It needs to be a privlidge to own a business in our great cities, not be a burden and something we gotta try to force people to do.. and I think us at the top need to push this, enforce this and encourage the new mobsters to want to own a business, especially to front our drugs and criminal activity in our cities and especially after this I am well aware of what Las Vegas needs to do.

We can only sell so many drugs, rob so many old ladies before the heat gets to us.. these business's cover us there plus when we visit them more often we can see the guys in town better, so it really is a positive thing for ever leader to push activity in the bar districts.

Yuri raises his fist for dramatic effect.

Yeah! Kepp the businesses alive, keep them rolling! Revive them! My bar in New Orleans will participate in competitions if I'm approached with the offer for a comp.

Silvio nodded at SINGER and smiled, "I'll make sure to have a poster outside my office to let our young ones know where to go if they need some educating on how to play their role, so to speak. Appreciate all the work you put into it Sir, and sincerely hope those in dire need of your school, attend to your classes. Much respect to you, Mr. SINGER." He said and patted SINGER on the back.