Sure, there were two shootings outside the convenience store. And yes, the owners have been cited for selling “loosies.” But the Dixwell Plaza Smoker’s Stop should nevertheless be allowed to stay open every night until 2 a.m., a lawyer argued.
Attorney Bernie Pellegrino made that pitch to the Board of Zoning Appeals Tuesday evening. He spoke on behalf of a Dixwell Plaza convenience store looking for permission to stay open until 2 a.m., seven days a week.
It took all Sgt. Donald Harrison (pictured above) had to keep from interrupting when Pellegrino said the store has had no problems with the police. Moments later, Harrison got his chance to speak. He told zoners about the shootings, the fights, the lack of security, and the raids that have found the store in violation of laws on tobacco sales.
In the end, the zoners voted to deny the store’s request, citing Sgt. Harrison’s testimony in particular.
For the past 18 months, Smoker’s Stop has been open 24 hours a day, Pellegrino told zoners. The owners were unaware that they did not have permission to do that, he said. They originally requested zoning permission for a 24-hour operation. They later trimmed it back to staying open until 2 a.m.
The store does a “substantial portion” of its business between 11 p.m. and 2 a.m., Pellegrino said. To have it close at 11 p.m., as zoning regulations require, “would be a substantial hardship for the applicant.”
Pellegrino (pictured) said the store meets the late-night need of people who work “off-hours shifts.” The store has collected a petition of 225 signatures of customers supporting the 2 a.m. bid, he said.
Being open overnight has no detrimental effect on other businesses in the plaza or the nearby church and school, Pellegrino said.
For safety, the store employs security guards from midnight to 3 a.m. to address loitering concerns, Pellegrino said. And after midnight the store’s doors close, he said. Customers can order what they want from a window; the clerk will get it for them.
“There have been no police arrests or activity at our locations,” the lawyer said. Of the two “alleged shootings,” he said, “that may be true but as I said, this is a multi-use site.” There’s no evidence that the incidents were related to the store, he said. “It may have been on the property but it wasn’t at our store.”
The store has been cited for not paying taxes on cigarette sales, he said. And a City Plan Department report mentions that the store sells “smoking paraphernalia.” But that’s a “red herring,” Pellegrino claimed. All convenience stores sell smoking supplies.
Two women spoke in support of the store. They said the family that runs it is very nice and can’t be blamed for trouble that happens outside of the store.
“Am I scared at certain hours?” neighbor Tory Townsend asked rhetorically. “Yes. But that has nothing to do with the store.”
Five people spoke against the application. Members of the Dixwell Plaza Merchant Association said the store stands in the way of their efforts to “upgrade.”
The most persuasive testimony, it later appeared, came from Sgt. Harrison, Dixwell’s top cop.
“It took all my willpower not to say something” when Pellegrino said the store hasn’t had any trouble with cops, Harrison told the board. He said the store has never had any security guards that he’s seen. He said the shootings are definitely related to the store, since it was the only spot open there at the time. He said the store’s “only purpose in life is to sell loosies [single cigarettes], which is illegal.” The store has been raided three times for selling individual cigarettes. He cited “numerous fights in the store.” And the late-night window was only put in a month ago at the insistence of police, Harrison said.
“The officer has made his comments. He’s there more than I am,” Pellegrino said. But the owners told him that the shootings didn’t have anything to do with the store, and that the service window has been there since Day 1, he told the zoning board.
Later during the evening’s voting session, board member Victor Fasano noted that Harrison “seems to think there’s a problem. That would seem to be an important consideration. It convinces me that this should not be permitted.”
Member Ben Trachten agreed. Chair Pat King said she did too. The board voted unanimously to deny the application.
This store ownner should challenge this in court.I bet if this was happening by stop and shop nothing would be said.