PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The recent shooting in which a Philadelphia police officer was wounded and the suspect killed has renewed city council’s push to regulate stop-and-go liquor stores and gambling machines.
Philadelphia police released a video of the Jan. 26 shooting that showed the location, called Jennifer Tavern, didn’t look like a tavern at all.
“You know, when I look at the video of what happened last Friday night, it just all came back because here was an establishment that’s supposed to be a tavern, it’s supposed to have seating for patrons, it’s supposed to be an asset to the neighborhood, where people can purchase a meal and come in and eat — and it was none of these things.”
Jennifer Tavern is a type of liquor store known as a “stop-and-go,” which sells shots and other alcohol “to go,” even though its license requires food service and dine-in space. Councilmember Cindy Bass targeted the stores as neighborhood nuisances in 2017, but she says seeing video of the incident made her realize that they are still operating with impunity.
“I’m calling out the departments to do the enforcement that we called upon many, many years ago. In seven years you can’t get it done? This is absolutely ridiculous that we allow these folks to operate in ways that are detrimental. They are a blight on our community.”
Bass proposed, and Council approved, hearings on the matter. The incident also touched a nerve with Councilmember Curtis Jones, who has been trying to regulate gambling machines in corner stores. There are three evident in the video of the shooting.
“They are in every neighborhood in the city of Philadelphia. We don’t know how many there are. We don’t know how much money they make. Nobody regulates them, nobody taxes them, so they are totally disrespecting the city of Philadelphia.
Jones has reintroduced a bill to outlaw the machines, which passed last session but was pocket-vetoed by Mayor Jim Kenney on his way out of office.