Two pizzerias will shut their doors earlier than usual tonight. In the wake of a late-night double-shooting, the neighborhood’s top cop asked them to help him defuse a dangerous mix of “booze, girls, guns, and bad blood.”
Dwight District Manager Lt. Ray Hassett made the request to Alpha Delta Pizza and nearby Brick Oven Pizza to close at 1 a.m. on weekends for the next month or so. Their abbreviated hours are in effect as of the new year. Previously, they had been staying open until 3 or 4 a.m.
The two restaurants, by the corner of Elm and Howe Streets, do a brisk business at that hour. After the bars let out on Fridays and Saturdays, patrons head straight to the corner to pick up a slice.
It was during just such a late-night gathering that two men were shot on Saturday Dec. 26. One was hit in the heel, the other in the thigh. (The police investigation into the shooting continues, according to Lt. Lisa Dadio, who’s running it. “We are still pursuing numerous leads and information that detectives have uncovered,” she reported.)
Lt. Hassett is the top cop in the Dwight neighborhood, which includes the two pizza places. The double shooting, plus other recent violent crimes in the area, led to his request that the restaurants close up early for a while. The idea came from the police in his district, he said.
Hassett termed the approach “crime prevention through environmental design”: when a trouble spot develops, you tackle the underlying factors.
Hassett’s comments came after the monthly meeting of the Dwight Community Management Team this week, at which he had explained his strategy to the group.
Having the pizza places close earlier “eliminates that as a gathering spot,” he told the team. “It’s smart policing.”
Lt. Hassett later said a similar strategy was employed three or four years ago, when violence spiked in the area.The plan worked then to decrease crime, he said.
Hassett said he doesn’t know why people gather at the corner of Elm and Howe after last call, but they’re not walking there. “It’s mostly a drive-up crowd.”
As the crowd swells, around 2 a.m., it includes many people who have been drinking. They may carry over disagreements from the bar, Hassett said. It becomes a “big social spot” with a volatile combination of “girls, booze, guns, and bad blood.” Unlike at the nightclubs, there are no bouncers to cool things down, and things can get violent.
The last month has seen two shootings, a “cutting” and a homicide just a couple blocks away from the corner, Hassett said. “I don’t want the public to be injured,” he said. There’s a .40 caliber bullet hole (pictured) in the door jamb of Alpha Delta.
So he recently asked the two pizzerias to close early for the time being. Both businesses were happy to comply, he said. “I appreciate their cooperation.”
The early-closing strategy is just part of a variety of policing tactics to deal with the problem area, Hassett said. Officers pay extra attention to the corner of Elm and Howe after the bars close, he said. They crack down on motor vehicle violations like double-parking. When the shots were fired on Dec. 26, his officers had just been in the area and were heading around the block on their way back, Hassett said.
Askin Made The Sign
Askin Ozdemir (pictured at the top of the story) was working at Alpha Delta Pizza that night. He said he was cooking in the back when he heard two gunshots. He looked up and saw customers running towards him, screaming and yelling. They were trying to get away from the bullets flying out front.
The shooting happened around 2:30 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 26. It was busy, as it usually is at that time, said Ozdemir, a cook. The restaurant sells a lot of food after 2 a.m., he said. “They want a slice, they want a steak and cheese.”
Closing at 1 a.m. means losing some business. Ozdemir said he understands the need: “It’s for our security.”
He agreed with Hassett’s assessment: Beefs that begin in the bars sometimes develop around the pizzeria. “The problems didn’t start here,” he said.
So last weekend, Ozdemir made a sign for the locked door. It read, “Sorry, we are closed for pickup.” (Alpha Delta still does late-night deliveries.) Ozdemir said he saw a number of people walk up and try the locked door, then walk away, disappointed.
The cook said he doesn’t know why Alpha Delta has become an after-hours gathering spot. He offered guesses. “We serve good food. And we always have smiles on our faces.”
Alpha Delta will be closed early on weekends for the rest of the month, Ozdemir said. “Why not? It’s no big deal. Yeah, we lose customers, but we don’t worry about that.”