Neighbors Discuss How to Work With a Nuisance Business

On December 5th, a cold winter night, over 40 neighbors and business owners came out to talk about nuisance businesses. Neighbors were particularly concerned about the upcoming night club, the largest in the city, at 1219 Vine Street. Other issues raised related to concerns such as trash, noise, and crime.

Councilman Mark Squilla, George Farrell and Marissa Moylan from Senator Larry Farnese’s office, Captain John Ryan from the 6th District Police, and Tracy Ruffin from the City of Philadelphia’s Licenses and Inspections gave short presentations on how their agencies work with each other and provide resources to individuals.

Mr. Ruffin’s office works with code violations. They will also collect quality of life complaints, which will be relevant to the new nuisance business program at L&I that will identify and work with repeated violators to create a plan to resolve issues.

Captain Ryan encouraged folks who notice any issues to call 911 so operators can refer people to the right sources or address situations immediately.

Senator Farnese’s office focuses on liquor license violations (i.e. underage drinking) for businesses with licenses to serve alcohol.

Councilman Squilla works with L&I and the Police to resolve issues and make sure feedback is passed on to the correct city agencies.

Business owners present at the meeting also suggested reaching out to businesses to try to resolve issues first, as most business owners want to be good neighbors.

PCDC thanks all the speakers for spending the time to inform the community. PCDC is grateful to Chinese Christian Church and Center for the use of the church space.