Violence, Disruption Still a Problem on Murdock Street

During the public comments portion of the meeting on Monday night, Dan Greiner, a resident of Murdock Street, voiced concerns about additional problems concerning the patrons at Canon Lodge.

“It’s  out of control,” he said, referring to the loud music, fighting and a recent incident involving a knifing.

Residents are asking council to pursue a legal course of action or declare it a “nuisance bar,” which would violate a local ordinance.

“It’s become an increasingly intolerable situation,” Greiner said.

Councilman Rich Russo indicated that council had who agreed to add two state constables at the club along with video surveillance cameras. Residents indicated that noise and problems died down for a very short time and now that the weather is nice, people are causing trouble in the streets on a regular basis during the middle of the night.

“We need to take this a step further,” Russo said.

A second resident, who is a parent and resident of Murdock Street,

“We have to listen to swearing and fighting. People doing things that I don’t want my kids to see. My son goes to school and there’s broken bottles at the parking lot where he has gym class,” she said.

“Does it have to be that someone gets shot before you do something?” she said. 

The resident said she called police several times in the last few weeks and the club would just turn the music back up when the police left. She said she might pursue legal action on her own.

Mayor David H. Rhome addressed the citizens’ concerns in during his report.

“I apologize things aren’t happening exactly the way you all want,” he said. “I am as frustrated as you are, but there haven’t been too many reports.”

The mayor, police, and council have asked all residents to call 911 if there are any issues on the street regarding disturbances in that area. 

The mayor also indicated he would confirm that the club had the security guards working regularly and cameras in place and will continue to work with outside agencies to resolve the issue.

“If it takes closing it down, that’s what we will pursue. But it has to go through other agencies to make that happen. We have to make sure that we don’t violate somebody else’s rights.”