The Allentown Association is urging the City Council to stop allowing new bars, or bars that are sold, to receive liquor licenses. They claim they are asking for less bars on Allen St. to prevent crimes.
According to the police dispatch there were almost double the fights calls in 2017 as there were in 2016.
While getting rid of bars could help decrease the amount of crime, it could also negatively affect business owners like Drew Graziadei. Graziadei is in the process of purchasing Alley Cat, a bar on Allen Street. He says that he has been having a tough time receiving the "special use permit" (a permit that can allow a bar to receive a liquor license) after the recent push to decrease the number of bars.
Graziadei purchased Alley Cat to continue it as a bar. If the system remains intact, he will not be allowed to operate it as a bar, which could create a massive loss.
Graziadei says he is looking for a fair chance to own his business. In a statement to 7 Eyewitness News, Graziadei said in part "There needs to be something done as far as the restaurants/bars, Allentown Association and the city coming to some sort of agreement or solution other than deneying people the right to sell there business completely... before these decisions are made the establishment itself should be looked into, the new owner should meet qualifications etc.... right now this law and rule is completely flawed and I think we can all do better I think there’s a lot more that can be done and there is a lot more compromise that could be had."
There is a city council meeting scheduled for tomorrow to address this issue.
