BRO reader Brian contacted us today with the following email: I am not sure if you have already mentioned it or have seen it for yourself, but there has been a lack of drug dealing on the corner of Main and Ferry this week. Every time I am driving towards down in the late afternoon and early evening, El Waseem’s market has been locked up and dark. Could be some good news for an intersection that could use some help. Speaking of…any update on HOME [Housing Opportunities Made Equal] coming to that corner across Ferry?
According to the owner of the building, Bob Biniszkiewicz, Elwaseem is closed. Having an inkling of the rumored drug activity, Biniszkiewicz says he refused to give Elwaseem, who have been tenants for 20 years (long before his ownership), a renewed lease, allowing them to go month to month, while encouraging them to find a new home. While he says the store’s owners have asked for a chance to reincarnate the store to something more fitting with Biniszkiewicz’s long-term plan for the building, he refused to grant them the opportunity, due to the rumors and the highly involved Linwood block club’s concerns about them.
Biniszkiewicz was also eager to have a crime camera installed in conjunction with the closing of Elwaseem. Though it wasn’t on the original list of camera sites, Biniszkiewicz got a petition going of Main Street stakeholders lobbying for inclusion at this intersection. He says the blue light isn’t flashing yet, but it’s there on the property, where HOME should have a groundbreaking at the end of this month, pending a completion of funding for the project.
Biniszkiewicz says, “Credit goes to the Linwood Ave block club which has been on a tear at city hall complaining about Elwaseem. I’ve talked to the inspector [and other city officials] after the inspector got complaints from the neighborhood. I explained I’d be happy to see Elwaseem’s gone, but I was a bit concerned about retaliation from the drug dealers.”
Apparently there was a sale of the business last year from the previous owner to some other members of the family. When the business changed hands, all licenses should have simultaneously been updated with new principals, but was not. In order for this licensing to be approved by the City, the principals need the support of councilman LoCurto, whom they met on Tuesday. LoCurto says that he will meet with licensing this week to discuss the situation, but is undecided as to what course he will take. He also says he is aware that “the store has been thought of as a problem in the area for a long time.”
In the meantime, Biniszkiewicz says he’s happy the City has taken the actions and position it has. Over the winter he’ll be redoing the store front and gutting the store. He’ll also get a lease in place for one of the other vacant storefronts, in which he hopes to have a tenant (possibly a well-known local BBQ establishment) in spring or early summer. If the licensing and lease are not renewed, that will leave the Elwaseem storefront available, as well as another next to it.