Nora Grace-Flood Photo
The gas station at 9 p.m. Thursday.
A Kimberly Avenue gas station ran out of fuel while requesting extended hours of operation — after community members complained over the convenience store’s contribution to neighborhood crime.
The Board of Zoning Appeals voted unanimously and without debate during its latest meeting to bar the Citgo and Sam’s Food Stores located at 14 Kimberly Ave. from staying open all night.
Said Alan, a representative of formal applicant Mahmood Alrqibat, said a 24/7 hot deli would serve overnight workers and keep Kimberly Avenue safe. Residents of the area shot back that the gas station has done nothing but contribute to robberies, whizzing bullets and open drug deals.
Asked how he thought remaining open past 10 p.m. would help the community, Alan stated that workers from Yale New Haven Hospital and the MTA depend on the shop as a fast food stop on their way home from late-night shifts. Unlike other nearby gas stations, his shop would have a 24-hour deli to feed hardworking overnighters. Illumination from the windows as well as wary cashiers could help provide a sense of security, he suggested.
“That’s ridiculous,” said Hill resident George Lindsay during the public hearing. “The number of people hanging out at the gas station is becoming unreal.”
City Plan Commission Chair and Hill activist Leslie Radcliffe agreed, citing loitering, drug sales, prostitution, and alcohol solicitation taking place outside the convenience stop. Alders Kampton Singh and Carmen Rodriguez echoed those points.
“A guy named Mario used to run that palace. He was very community oriented and we never had any problems,” neighbor Miguel Pittman said. “When you look at Mario’s establishment versus theirs, it’s the total opposite. Now I’m hesitant of even pulling up in front of there to get gas.”
As condemnations piled up, the hearing started to sound like group therapy.
“I’ve seen the atrocities that go on there, firsthand,” neighbor Courtney Porteous stated.
“I have a lot of concerns. A lot of concerns,” Sgt. Jasmine Sanders said. At least 70 calls have been made to the New Haven Police Department since January of this year, with documented drug sales, stabbings, shootings and “numerous quality of life issues” stemming from activity taking place on the property over recent years. Sanders also said that the establishment has been found guilty in the past of operating illegally past the permitted time of 10 p.m., after which many of the above issues have been reported.
“Wow,” Alan said at the end of the pile-on. “That’s a lot of heat we just heard.”
After taking a brief pause to collect himself, he told the board: “What we are trying to do here is make it a better place.”
All of the crime described by the community, he said, takes place “in the surrounding area. Nothing happens inside the store.”
A smoke shop next door contributes to problems, he claimed. “We are offering to do more,” like hire security personnel and grant video footage of the area to the police.
Despite Alan’s counter defense, board members didn’t even need to discuss further. One by one, they all denied the application.