THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 17, 1994 TAG: 9407160104
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 07 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Bill Reed
LENGTH: Medium: 91 lines
The ``golden goose'' may be cooked if the city doesn't get a grip on behavior on the resort strip, especially late at night.
The strip is often equated with the famed goose, because it generates a lot of tax revenues from restaurant, hotel and store sales and that revenue helps keep the levies on city property owners to one of the lowest levels in this region.
A lot of resources have been poured into fixing up the Oceanfront - $43 million to date on upgrading Atlantic Avenue and its side streets alone. And a lot more is ready to be spent.
It's all being done in the name of enhancing the city's tourism business, which rapidly is solidifying its position as the NUMBER ONE industry in Virginia Beach, what with the cutbacks in the military and the restrictions on development of any kind due to the lack of a reliable, long-range local water source.
All those good works and good intentions could just blow out the window and count for nothing if lawlessness on resort streets at night is not curbed.
Well, you say, that's what resorts are all about. They have to be a little wild and wooly, a little on the edge. There has to be excitement there. Sex appeal. Electricity.
And, you say, complaints of lawlessness are racially motivated, anyway, because most Atlantic Avenue business owners are white and they are complaining about the behavior of young blacks who come in great numbers to the Oceanfront from neighboring cities, plus places like Washington, Philadelphia and New York.
There's a lot of truth to this assertion. Bigotry does exist on the Oceanfront. Surprise, surprise!
But what about families, black and white, who come to town for a restful three or four days of splashing in the ocean, eating out and just enjoying the fresh air on the Boardwalk or any city street?
Can't they expect to relax unmolested? Why should a head of a household get a fat lip, or worse, when he or she takes the family for an outing and accidentally bumps into a bunch of punks walking four abreast along the sidewalk or the Boardwalk?
The answer: They shouldn't have to. Not in the name of political correctness, racial harmony, or anything else. They should be able to expect an enjoyable, terror-free vacation - whether their skins are black, white, tan or purple. For the past six years this has not always been the case.
A night-long tour of the strip last Saturday revealed a fairly peaceful scene, with crowds jamming Atlantic Avenue sidewalks - especially in the 1900, 2000 and 2100 blocks and side streets.
There was heavy police presence, both uniformed and undercover, to see that nothing untoward happened, and generally it didn't. Around 10 p.m. police closed Atlantic Avenue from 19th to 24th streets to vehicle traffic, which drastically reduced the noise and eventually the pedestrian levels.
Nevertheless, we still had reports of a guy getting punched in the nose in a motel parking lot by a couple of punks and newlyweds being chased into another motel parking lot and threatened after an exchange of unpleasantries with another group of punks at 19th Street and Pacific Avenue.
But that was nothing compared to the Fourth of July weekend, several resort business owners have confided reluctantly and confidentially.
One restaurant owner said his business suffered more than $400 in losses when surly young patrons - the ages ranged from teens to mid-20s - deliberately walked out of his establishment without paying for meals or drinks.
In one instance, he said, one of his waiters chased a delinquent customer out onto the sidewalk to collect and was promptly confronted with the business end of a pistol, which the culprit threatened to use if the waiter didn't quickly return to the restaurant. The gunman then disappeared into the Atlantic Avenue crowd before the cops could be summoned to nab him.
There were other reports of gangs of youths loitering on street corners, making loud and obscene comments to passers-by, many of whom had children and babies in tow.
And there were reports of other youths urinating against the sides of buildings or from hotel balconies in full view of passing pedestrians and unchallenged by nearby police.
Resort merchants and innkeepers, and the police themselves, have been reluctant to divulge information about the nocturnal goings-on along the strip. Nothing unusual in the summer, they insist. Besides, it's bad for business, you know. And, of course there are the dreaded MEDIA. You know how THE MEDIA ALWAYS BLOW EVERYTHING OUT OF PROPORTION, they say.
Well, guys, the word is out anyway. And the media have had nothing to do with it. People in Richmond, Roanoke, Petersburg and points west and north - the once reliable markets for the resort - have passed it on to neighbors, friends, relatives. And those people aren't coming to Virginia Beach, now or ever.
So, it's time to wake up and do something about it. Or you can kiss that golden goose goodbye. by CNB