Cigs, drugs and locked-up buildings were the concerns residents brought to last week’s Police Service Area 1 meeting at Aria Health’s Frankford campus.
Each district is divided into Police Service Areas. PSA1 is the southern third of the 15th District and includes Frankford and Northwood.
PSA sessions are open to the public, and residents directly tell police about crime problems in their neighborhoods.
One resident told Officer Heather Andrews she believes somebody is going into a large building on the 4700 block of Oxford Avenue that has been sealed by the Department of Licenses and Inspections.
“It looks closed, but it seems to have people in it,” the resident said. “Does it have a back door?”
Andrews said she would call the city’s nonemergency 311 number to ask L&I to check to see if the building at 4721 Oxford Ave. is properly sealed.
In December, police said officers had entered the club at that address that was rented for private parties and found six weapons. The building was re-por-ted to L&I, and the de-part-ment sealed the place.
L&I “ceased” the property, department spokeswoman Rebecca Swanson said in December, “because an illegal nightclub was being run there without proper zoning or licenses.”
L&I puts red-and-white striped signs on properties it “ceases,” and that’s known as “candy-striping.” A cease means the property cannot be used as a nightclub or anything else that exceeds the current zoning, Swanson stated in a Dec. 6 email to the Northeast Times.
Cease orders are enforced by the police, not L&I, so if anyone sees any activity that appears to exceed current zoning, the police should be contacted, Swanson had said.
Drugs are being sold outside on the 4800 block of Penn Street, residents told Andrews. Residents described the drug dealer as a slender black man who is about 6 feet 2 inches tall and had a medium complexion.
Andrews said narcotics detectives have made investigations in the area, but added they don’t tell district police about them until they’re ready to make arrests.
District police also make narcotics arrests, she said, adding some have officers have been “consistently making good drug arrests.”
A few other addresses were mentioned, including the 4700 block of Griscom Street.
One resident asked if it is legal to sell loose cigarettes and said she knows a Frankford Avenue store has been selling the out-of-pack smokes.
Andrews told her cigars may be sold separately, but not cigarettes.
The next PSA 1 meeting will be at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 12, at Aria Health’s Frankford campus, 4900 Frankford Ave. ••
