City Council moved Monday to strengthen nuisance abatement laws a day after two men were injured in a shooting at an after-hours club in Reading.
Police said officers were called to the 1700 block of Muhlenberg Street just after 6:15 a.m. Sunday for a report of gunshots.
2 wounded in shooting at ‘after-hours club,’ Reading police say
The shooting came less than a week after police and fire safety officials warned council of the escalating violence and potentially catastrophic safety risks tied to after-hours clubs, illegal bars and event venues without zoning and other necessary permits or licenses.
Two men were wounded in a shooting Sunday morning at an illegal after-hours club in the 1700 block of Muhlenberg Street, city officials said. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
“We had another shooting last night at one of these,” Councilman Raymond Baker said during a discussion Monday before council voted unanimously in favor of the measure. “We keep calling them after-hours clubs, but let’s call them what they are. They’re illegal bars, at the end of the day, that’s what they are.”
Managing Director Jack Gombach said the strengthened ordinance is designed to remove prior barriers to enforcement and to hold property owners and organizers of unlicensed clubs and events liable.
“I could talk all night to try to convey the seriousness of this,” Deputy Police Chief Aaron Demko told council last week during its committee of the whole meeting. “We’re seeing an insane amount of violent crime stemming from them.”
The measure expands the city’s existing disruptive conduct ordinance, allowing authorities to declare problem properties as nuisances and ultimately revoke occupancy permits if violations continue.
Police said underused properties throughout the city are being operating as after-hours clubs.
“They’re essentially running unlawful bars until the very early morning hours, mixing alcohol, drugs and firearms without any controls,” said Capt. Scott Errington.
Police described pop-up parties promoted on social media that can draw hundreds of attendees into vacant buildings, garages and even private homes. Organizers of such events often charge cover fees and sell alcohol illegally.
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The shooting Sunday on Muhlenberg Street is just the latest in a string of crimes that prove the need for tougher legislation and enforcement, Council President Donna Reed said.
Other recent assaults include one in which two victims were beaten and robbed while waiting in line to enter an after-hours club with a history of nuisance and other complaints, Errington said.
Fire risks
The danger and safety risks extend beyond crime, Fire Marshal Jeremy Searfoss said, noting the problem events are being held in otherwise unoccupied former factory, office and warehouse buildings.
“These buildings are absolutely not designed for the purpose for which they’re being used,” he said.
Searfoss cited the former Berks Products Building at Spring and Nicolls streets as an example of the dangers tied to illegal after-hours gatherings in vacant structures.
The building recently was used for a large, unauthorized event involving hundreds of people, despite being unsuitable for that type of use, he said.
He also described hundreds gathering in a space on Walnut Street with inadequate exits and outdated safety systems.
“Put a little bit of smoke in there and it’s going to be a very, very disastrous situation,” he said.
The potential for a catastrophic fire, shooting or other disaster is serious, Demko said.
“I deeply feel that we’re going to have a mass casualty event at some point if we don’t take some sort of action,” he said.
The ordinance
Gombach thanked the city codes, fire and police departments for working with the administration and city’s legal team in crafting what he sees as a strong, enforceable piece of legislation.
The scale of the activity and the profits involved have made traditional enforcement ineffective, he noted.
“You’re talking tens of thousands of dollars a night. What’s a couple hundred dollars in a fine?” he said, noting the city needs to put pressure not just on the organizers, but also the property owners.
The amended ordinance creates a structured enforcement process that can range from written warning notices and monitoring for violations to hearings before the codes and license appeals board, designation of a building as a public nuisance and revocation of occupancy permits.
In urgent situations, the measure allows for expedited action, Gombach explained.
The ordinance, he said, allows the managing director to authorize summary abatement, immediate enforcement in emergent situations. The process includes layers of oversight, including the ability to appeal to Berks County Court, officials said.
“We always want to make sure that whoever we’re issuing citations to has proper due process,” Demko said.
Officials emphasized the measure is not aimed at legitimate businesses. The focus is on repeat offenders and unregulated operations advertised on social media.
“We don’t want to impact our legitimate business owners who are following all the rules,” Demko said.
Gombach echoed that point, saying the broader goal is compliance and safe reuse of properties.
“What the mayor wants is productive, active, proper use of buildings,” he said. “This process will force that.”
Council members showed strong support for the measure, citing quality-of-life concerns and fairness to compliant businesses.
“We can’t underscore how this is impacting quality of life,” Reed said. “It’s degrading the city.”
Gombach described the ordinance as part of a broader, coordinated effort to address the issue.
“This is part of a comprehensive strategy to address an emerging issue that is a large contributor to violent crime in our city,” he said.
Officials said they will track data and adjust enforcement if needed, noting similar approaches in nearby cities such as Allentown.
For now, officials said, the goal is to stop the cycle before it escalates further.
Anyone with information on the incident in the 1700 block of Muhlenberg Street is asked to contact Reading police at 610-655-6116 or provide an anonymous tip through Crime Alert Berks at 877-373-9913.