THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, October 12, 1994 TAG: 9410120011
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Short : 43 lines
A nightclub that draws loud music and inconsiderate, unruly patrons to residential areas in the wee hours is bad enough. A business which attracts hundreds of patrons but cannot control crowds that knock down the facade of its building to get in, with or without tickets; or a business that has three times become so unruly that a public thoroughfare had to be closed; or a business that is the scene of 30 minutes' continuous gunfire - such a business a city has every right, even a duty, to close down.
Portsmouth has gone to court to close two such businesses, Ebony Showcase and David's II, within walking distance of each other. They cater to a young, mostly black crowd, most of whom are there for a good time and nothing more. But repeated incidents of unruliness and violence involving the clientele have made these clubs a danger to their hundreds of other patrons and to the adjacent neighborhoods. The three ready remedies are greater police presence, greater peer pressure for responsible behavior and closing repeated trouble spots.
Some say that closing these two clubs is about race: White neighborhoods don't want black clubs nearby and white officials don't want to have to deal with the complaints. But this move isn't about race. It's about public safety and the ability of residents to peacefully enjoy their neighborhood.
If calling out 15 officers to quell a disturbance depletes the department's complement, Portsmouth may well need more police. It needs better zoning and licensing procedures to ensure that businesses not open before they are prepared to satisfy both their customers and their neighbors. It needs more - and smaller - entertainment alternatives.
Violence is not a black thing or a white thing, no more than are the noise and the disorder some in these crowds have brought to Portsmouth. Race is neither reason nor excuse for such conduct, no more than lack of jobs or education or parenting are. We'd like to see that become a unifying theme, for all cities of South Hampton Roads, and for all their res-i-dents. by CNB