PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia City Council has made many attempts to crack down on stores that sell drug paraphernalia, but many stores are still around.
Community members said they have seen progress since City Council passed measures in 2021 that led to more vigorous enforcement, but some store owners have found a way around the rules, frustrating council members like Quetcy Lozada.
"We walked into convenience stores where they're selling needles right above candy. This is a problem," she said.
One loophole, Monday's hearing found, is that an owner threatened with a cease operation order can transfer ownership to a new LLC. Councilmember Curtis Jones suggested imposing the order on businesses by location, not ownership.
"There's a geography of crime," he said. "Where things happen is not just what happens there, it's where it happens, and there's a preponderance of opportunity when you create this watering hole.
"There's a correlation between these bad activities that go on at a location that attract the predatory response of crime," he added.
Lozada noted that sanctions should also follow business owners so they can't reopen in a new place.
"If he's a problem on the 3100 block of Kensington Avenue and he moves his business to the 3500 block, he's going to be a problem," she said.
Kathryn Gilmore Richardson, who called for the hearing, said she expects it to generate several new measures.
