Speak Up: Response to downtown Dover addressing safety concerns, Round Two

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A public meeting was planned at Dover City Hall Jan. 26 on the topic of continued problems in the downtown area that some say are connected to the Loockerman Street bar, Irish Mike’s Old Towne Pub. In 2021, the tavern was forced to close, with its business license pulled and liquor license suspended for 30 days, after the Dover Police Department said it had recently responded to over 35 public disturbance calls to the establishment. The owner says his business is not the root cause of such calls. The city has written a proposed loitering statute to combat late-night downtown gatherings, but concerns have been expressed about the proposal’s language. What’s the solution?

  • First, let’s address the elephant in the room. What are the calls for? Out-of-control drinking from patrons? Drunken brawls spilling into the streets? Property damage from fights? Innocent people getting assaulted from drunken patrons? What? — Willie Preacher

    • The city needs to ticket the people loitering and hanging outside, in the back and across the street from the business. — Debbie Lyons
  • Where do you propose they go if they do not have a home? — Elizabeth Brode
  • A job. — Tom Small
  • Is it really homeless people causing all these problems at Irish Mike’s and the liquor store, or are they just an easy target? — Holly Overmyer
  • That’s a great question! — Elizabeth Brode
  • I’d be very surprised if it’s homeless men causing the problems. Very. — Holly Overmyer
  • They need to address the homeless issue. You can’t go through Loockerman Street without them trying to flag you down for money, and if you’re walking, they get right in your face. I understand their plight, but it’s not good for businesses because nobody wants to go downtown. — Cathy Thompson-Moore
  • It isn’t a city problem but a business one. — Howard Gaines III
  • Enforce existing laws. Simple! — Kevin McCarthy
  • More police presence. Close or move the liquor store. — Gary A. Knox
  • Irish Mike’s isn’t the only issue. I drove through town a few months ago around 7 a.m. and got bombarded with people hanging around my car, begging for money. One guy was walking around with a sign saying he was hungry, so I drove over to Burger King and bought two breakfast meals and went back and gave them to him. He sheepishly took them, but he clearly wanted money. Another trip downtown, I had my grandkids in tow. We parked in front of the art league and were walking to a nearby store, and there was a guy banging on the window of a car that I had just watched a woman hurry to get inside. My grandkids were scared. I haven’t been downtown since, so I don’t know if it’s getting better or worse, but it’s not the downtown I knew as a kid. The revitalization group and City Council need to address these issues and find a way to help these vagrants. Sadly, to get decent addiction treatment, people need health insurance, and most of these folks don’t have any. Plus, they have to want to get clean. I certainly don’t know the answer, but nothing will change until these issues are resolved. — Cathy Thompson-Moore
  • It’s a people problem of loitering with no good of intent. — Jeff Grzeszczak
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