[TomK]

I'm reminded of a book,

Are you sure it was a book or was that a front page article in today's
Newark Star Ledger?
OK, OK, not yet but it sure looks like it is coming.
Hey, if the pizza shack is too dangerous then y' gotta have it delivered,
and y' gotta have an armed delivery guy.

[magkelly]

If it wasn't for late night donuts, pizza and other quick snacks 99% of medical interns, police, paramedics and other night workers would starve. You think they can just bring food from home and eat it on a break no problem? Think again.

When I was in my mid 20's I helped open the very first Dunkin in a particular town. For four weeks on vacation from my real job and from school I trained the owner's cashiers and helped him get set up otherwise. It was literally the only place anyone could get a bite to eat in that town after 10 PM because even the McDonald's wouldn't stay open late there. You wouldn't believe how grateful the night workers I met were to have it there. They didn't care that they were risking their lives to stand outside the service window at 3 AM or that I was standing there behind shot proof glass to be able to work there. They were too grateful just to be able to grab something vaguely like hot food at night.

We always had a police presence because it's Dunkin policy in most stores to hand out free donuts to the police, but even so one night I got some very strong evidence of how bad that area really was when I went out to open the front door at 7 AM and found a box with $10K worth of crack vials sitting on the counter. Needless to say the police were called and they were not amused and the boss ended up letting them view the cam footage to see who left it there.

Me, I left shortly thereafter to go back to school and my regular job but that was an experience I've never forgotten. You'd be amazed at how many people work at night and who can really depend upon places like Dunkin. Some nights? I'd see cops or paramedics stuffing two or three donuts or a breakfast sandwich into their mouths as fast as they could just so they could get some food during their night shift because they were so busy that they couldn't take the time to heat up anything else. Far too many times I'd see them not even managing that, having to rush away before they even got a bite or two, back to work...

Yeah, the druggies and the gang bangers do like their midnight snacks too, and with the drug people and gang people the potential for crime is there all right, but I think about 85% of that place's business at night was emergency service workers, police, fire fighters, hospital people, and such. I was glad for the bullet proof glass but other than the crack box incident we never had any real trouble the whole time I was there. We had our share of scary people walking through the door but most of them just wanted donuts and not much else...

[Jodokast96]

And just how long ago was that? Just how bad is that area now? While I've never set foot in Newark, I grew up in Camden. And except for one 20 square block section during daylight hours, I won't set foot in the place. No one has been to any of the family grave sites because even the cemetery is too damned dangerous to visit. It was bad 25 years ago when I left, but it wasn't even the tiniest bit as bad as it is now, and I'd be surprised if that isn't the case with your DD.

On a side note here, I'm going on the record as saying this year's Mischief Night is going to make the one 20 years ago pale in comparison.

[magkelly]

That was early 90's. Actually from what I've heard that area where the Dunkin is in is supposedly better now. Gentrification has set in and there are upscale condos where before there were projects. I still have my doubts about even setting foot there though. It was not a pleasant place to spend time back then...

[GeneV]

The message here that is more disturbing is that citizens, including businesses, are on their own in fighting crime. They could go even further in that direction by imposing a curfew. On the one hand, I was prepared to say that Councilman Baraka's approach is somewhat consistent with his job as a school principal. City of Newark, NJ - Ras J. Baraka He has seemed a little too inclined to organize vigilantes. However, on looking a little deeper, he does seem to have fought against laying off police officers during a time of repeated crimes, and seems to have come to the approach of requesting private security as a last resort. City of Newark, NJ - July 15, 2010 - Councilman Demands to End Three Consecutive Days of Shootings in Newark We may be seeing our Tea Party future, with private police.

BTW, here is the original article about the ordinance. Newark councilman proposes city eateries that stay open late hire armed security guards | NJ.com

[Jodokast96]

Each of these cities here are saying that these places are a problem, and each is trying something different to fix it. Camden wants them shut down at night completely; Newark says you can stay open, but you've got to police your customers. I don't know which is right, but these things sure aren't happening at upscale eateries (I know there aren't any of them in Camden; I don't know what the case is with Newark). No matter what, it's going to be seen as coming down on the poor, but the bottom line is that it's the poor that are doing this.