What Memphis Mayor Paul Young told Reddit users about crime, housing problems, xAI and BBQ

Yahoo

25-02-2025

Mayor Paul Young took time to connect with Memphis residents in a new way: reddit.
Reddit, an anonymous social media app, is home to a Memphis subreddit with about 94,000 members. Young jumped on the app Monday to answer questions from Memphians about the city. There were over 600 comments on his post where he asked residents to pose questions on progress, upcoming initiatives, or any concerns people may have.
In his response session on Monday, Young gave out about 10 comments responding to some of the top-voted questions. These questions ranged in topics from car break-ins to xAI to which BBQ shop he preferred.
Here's what Young had to say.
Young said the priority with MATA is to replace the old and outdated fleet the city is currently working with. His team wants to address issues with frequency in the system.
The team believes people should know when a bus is coming, when buses are delayed, how long delays are, and how often people are denied trips. The team is also taking a look into smaller areas where full-sized city buses may not be needed.
Young cites an interim role with TransPro to help sustain and stabilize MATA as a way the city is working towards these goals.
One user posed a question on what Young's team is doing to make the first glimpse into the city more appealing for travelers. For most people leaving the airport, they take Plough Blvd, which turns into Airways Blvd, towards the interstate.
Young said his team is working on a redesign of Plough Blvd and the green areas separating the north and south lanes. The plan is to also have groups going out and picking up litter, cutting grass and making the area more aesthetically pleasing for anyone going to or leaving the airport.
Memphis is a city where investment groups have taken over part of the housing market. Young addressed the fact that 46% of Memphis homes are owner-occupied where the national average is 64%. Many neighborhoods are fighting a battle where investment groups are outbidding local families which also makes it harder for families to build wealth through homeownership.
"One of the biggest problems we've seen is that many of these neighborhoods weren't built to be rental communities," Young wrote in the forum. "These were historically owner-occupied neighborhoods, but over the past several years, large investment groups have outbid local families and turned them into rental properties."
There are two things Young's team is working to address. His team is working to make more incentives for affordable housing development and starter homes. Young's Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which was established in 2019, is one tool that the city is using to help renters transition to ownership.
Secondly, his team is looking at how taxes are structured. Like many residents, the team does not believe a company owning homes in the city should be taxed the same as residents living in their home. His team wants to enact a change so housing investment companies are taxed commercially at 40% rather than residentially at 25%.
In addressing xAI in Memphis, Young made sure to reassure residents that he is working prevent environmental harm to the city.
"I know people have raised environmental concerns, and those were my first questions when I sat down with xAI," Young wrote. "Water usage was a big one, because we have one of the best natural aquifers in the world, and I wanted to make sure that wasn't being threatened."
To help xAI not rely on or overuse the aquifer, the company is building an $80 million gray water facility to recycle wastewater. This is expected to reduce aquifer usage by 9% overall.
The company is also working with MLGW and TVA regarding energy usage. When the city requests for reduced energy usage to prevent power outages, xAI has agreed to completely move the supercomputer off grid and onto battery power to reduce strain on the system.
Drivers may have noticed a large number of drive out tags on Memphis roads recently. While some are real, there is an issue in the city with fake drive out tags being printed illegally.
Young wrote that officers have been trained to identify fake tags and instructed to pull over vehicles with them. Officers are also working to determine where these tags are being printed to prevent any more from getting on the streets.
According to Young's response, Memphis Police have been trying to cut back on vehicle break-ins by increasing officer presence in high traffic areas around the city. They are also expending the use of technology to monitor key corridors.
"The reality is that a small number of individuals are causing the most damage, and we're focused on cracking down on them," Young wrote.
So far, these efforts have proved fruitful in reducing crime. The motor vehicle theft rate dropped from 2,565.3 motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 people in 2023 to 1,607.3 thefts in 2024, reflecting a 37.3% decrease.
One of the harder-hitting questions for the mayor asked him his preference on barbecue in the city. Living in a barbecue hub means there are numerous places to choose, but for the mayor, it depends on what he is in the mood for.
"The spaghetti from BBQ Shop and the smoked chicken wings from Central are amazing," Young wrote. "Baked beans from BBQ Shop and the Mac and Cheese from Central are my picks."
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: What Memphis Mayor Paul Young said about xAI, housing, crime on reddit