TOUGH CODES ACTION IS A WELCOMED MOVE

The Issue: City codes officials placard a pool hall after shooting.

Our Opinion: It's good to see the codes department taking a tough,
active role in reclaiming the city from the thugs.

City codes officials are to be applauded for joining the fight to
reclaim Reading's streets from the gunslinging thugs whose acts of
violence are hampering the city's economic recovery.

In May, Reading initiated a policy of inspecting businesses and
residences in which or near which a violent act had occurred.

The policy was put into action earlier this month after a gun battle
in a parking lot outside Stadium Billiards, 1900 Centre Ave., next to
FirstEnergy Stadium. One man was wounded.

Police said an argument began in the pool hall sometime around 3:40
a.m. and spilled out onto the parking lot where 22 shots were fired
from at least four guns.

The owner of the business, Jose W. Rosario, said entertainers from a
nearby club were in the pool hall to meet fans and sign autographs.

City code inspectors placarded the business noting that it did not
have permits to hold events and to be open at that time.

It was the second time in less than a month that the parking lot
outside the pool hall had been the scene of violence. Police closed
the business June 12 after shots were fired in the parking lot during
a private party.

Rosario bought the pool hall July 6 and reopened it on July 9, the
day the second shooting occurred.

To some, the actions of the city codes department may seem a bit
ruthless, but this is exactly what is needed to bring some sanity
back to the city's streets.

With the Sovereign Center and the Sovereign Performing Acts Center
bringing people back into Reading and with various other building
projects under way, the city can't afford to allow businesses to
undermine the progress that is being made.

For too long, Reading has been held in the grip of thugs determined
to ply their drug trade and terrorize the city. The streets have been
turned into shooting galleries, making Reading the most violent city
per capita in Pennsylvania.

We don't know if drugs were a factor in the shooting outside Stadium
Billiards, but the city codes department has sent a strong message to
business owners, as well as landlords, that their livelihoods will be
jeopardized if they don't keep their businesses clean.

After all of the studies, reports and promises, it's good to see the
codes department taking a tough, active role in turning Reading back
into a safe place to live and work.