Buckhead’s Atlanta Police Department precinct is seeing a changing of the guard as its current commander has received a promotion to deputy chief.
Andrew Senzer, who has led the Zone 2 precinct since November 2019 with the rank of major, will head APD’s Strategy and Special Projects Division, he announced at an April 7 meeting of the Buckhead Public Safety Task Force.
Major Ailen Mitchell, who has served as Senzer’s assistant since 2020, will be the new Zone 2 commander, Deputy Chief Timothy Peek said in the meeting.
The transition will happen on April 14, according to APD. The current head of the Strategy and Special Projects Division, Deputy Chief Darin Schierbaum, is being promoted to the vacant position of assistant chief of police.
Senzer was Buckhead’s police commander through the historic COVID-19 pandemic and accompanying crime spike, including the May 2020 rioting and looting in local business areas that spun out of Black Lives Matter protests about the Minneapolis police murder of George Floyd.
He also led through the beginning of the Buckhead cityhood movement that based itself on crime concerns. While crime spiked, Senzer took a zero-tolerance approach and Buckhead continues to have the city’s lowest crime rate.
“It really has been an honor to serve as the commander of Zone 2,” Senzer said in the task force meeting. “In my 26 years [in policing], this has probably been the most challenging assignment I’ve had.”
He said his new role will be “a little behind the scenes” but that he will “not be a stranger” in Buckhead.
Peek said APD is “ecstatic” about Senzer taking on the deputy chief role.
Mitchell, according to his APD biography, has been with the department since 2006. He previously commanded the SWAT team and, like Senzer, once served on the Red Dog unit, an anti-drug squad disbanded in 2011 after controversial incidents like an illegal raid on the Atlanta Eagle gay bar. Among his other work was the Gang Unit and the Auto Theft Task Force.
Mitchell became Zone 2’s Criminal Investigations Unit commander in 2018 and its assistant commander in 2020.
Zone 2 is headquartered at 3120 Maple Drive in Buckhead Village.
Update: This story has been updated with information from APD about the transition.
Expansive skyline views and plant-covered walls are among the features of a new community space the tech company Salesforce is opening on the top floor of its Buckhead office tower.
The “‘Ohana Floor” occupies the 34th story of the Salesforce Atlanta Tower at 950 East Paces Ferry Road. The company offered a preview of the space March 2 in advance of an expected availability in August.
Offered for free to select nonprofit and civic groups for major events, ‘Ohana Floors are a component of six Salesforce towers in the U.S. and London, with several more planned around the world. “‘Ohana” is a Hawaiian term for extended family that the California-based software company uses in a broad sense of social engagement.
The ‘Ohana Floor is not the place you will be holding a birthday party or wedding. Salesforce vets would-be renters as nonprofits, non-governmental organizations and foundations with “a focus on humanitarian, social, educational or environmental causes,” according to a press release. The Salesforce website says the floor is suitable for receptions, fundraising galas, “executive-level board meetings” and seated dinners.
Other ‘Ohana Floors have been popular, according to the company’s website, with renters restricted to one event every 12 months and a six-month lead time on reservations. In addition, all reservations have been suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Atlanta ‘Ohana Floor has a capacity of 150 and includes such features as a coffee bar and a chef’s table.
Warren Wick, Salesforce’s North American president, led a ribbon-cutting at the March 2 event. Appearing with, including for a ceremonial blowing of a seashell, were Danny and Anna Akaka, Hawaiian culture experts who frequently appear at resorts and corporate events.
Among the public officials in attendance were Atlanta City Council President Doug Shipman, City Councilmember Matt Westmoreland, state Rep. Betsy Holland (D-Atlanta) and Gabriel Sterling, the Georgia elections official known nationally for sparring with former President Trump over 2020 conspiracy theories.
“Salesforce has contributed to the innovation, economic growth and social impact in Atlanta for years,” said Shipman in a press release after the event. “The opening of the Salesforce Tower Atlanta ‘Ohana Floor is another example of how the company continues to invest in the community. We’re delighted to have this beautiful space available to our city.”
The Buckhead tower is the regional hub for Salesforce, which opened Atlanta offices in 2013. In 2018, the company announced a multimillion-dollar expansion of the offices and received a $2 million state grant as an incentive. The company promised to add 600 jobs over the next five years and now says it has already exceeded that goal with more than 1,000 jobs.
The company said that over the years, it has given $4.6 million in grants to local nonprofits and its staff has volunteered for more than 71,000 collective hours in the area.
For more scenes from the ‘Ohana Floor preview, see our gallery below. For more details about rentals, see the company’s website.
The spirit of Buckhead heads forward. This is the way it has been, and perhaps this is the way it will always be. The spirit of Buckhead points forward. You see it in the way we work, and you see it in the way we play. The reach is always extending further. The search is for excellence and beauty and grace and vibrancy.
We are a community of individuals. We are diverse, we are dynamic, and we are discerning. We are builders. We are connected to one another with a common bond. A common dream. A common quest. Pointing life in one direction. Forward.
