Wednesday, May 19, 1999
Short Vine may charge for Sunday night entry
BY ANNE MICHAUD
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Cincinnati City Council may have found a $5 solution to the summer Sunday evening problem of large and often unruly crowds in the business district of Corryville.
Today, council will consider a $5 admission to a roped-off, two-block area of Short Vine Street for four Sundays this summer.
CROWD-CONTROL IDEAS
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Cincinnati City Council will consider two proposals today to better control summer crowds on Sunday nights in Corryville and Eden Park:
• Charge a $5 admission to an enclosed, two-block area of Short Vine Street in Corryville.
• Extend closing of Eden Park from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. and improve the free Sunday night concerts beginning in June.
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The admission price would give police more control over an enclosed area, and authority to disperse crowds and to outlaw glass containers and pets. Someone recently brought a boa constrictor to hang out on Short Vine.
Council also may vote to extend the closing of Eden Park from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. to encourage people to stay in the park later — and out of Corryville.
Both measures were unanimously approved Tuesday by council's Finance Committee and are to be voted on by the full council today.
The Sunday crowds move from Eden Park to Short Vine, city administrators said, flooding the streets with hundreds of young people.
It's a six-year tradition that has made local business owners desperate, said Peter Mello, president of the University Village Association, which proposed the $5 admission idea.
“It is impossible to do business with a thousand kids in the street,” he told the Finance Committee Tuesday. “They treat our business district as a park; (they are) not necessarily criminal, but basically just hanging out and chilling.”
The admission fee would buy a ticket redeemable for $5
worth of food, soft drinks or other goods inside local businesses. The University Village Association plans to have street vendors, volleyball and arts displays to create a festival atmosphere.
Vice Mayor Minette Cooper, who chairs the Finance Committee, challenged Mr. Mello and his wife, Maureen, who own Daniels' Restaurant & Pub, saying they were trying to rid the area of an unwanted crowd.
“What seems to me the real problem is a large number of African-American children overwhelming your neighborhood,” she said. “If your goal is to redirect the crowd, $5 is not your ticket.”
Mr. Mello said he wanted to “diversify” the crowd, and he was angered at the suggestion of racism: “Corryville has always been a very tolerant community. Where else is there a business district as inclusive as ours is?”
There have been racial incidents. During the summer of 1997, two white women reported being threatened by a group of young African-American men. One of the women was taking her child to Children's Hospital Medical Center. Police said race was a factor in both incidents.
Young people who hang out in Corryville have said they are aware of the tension from business owners. Last summer, Pizza Hut and Perkins Family Restaurant closed their doors on Short Vine.
Carolyn Edwards of the Cincinnati Human Relations Commission said the Greater Cincinnati African-American Chamber of Commerce wants to help make the proposed Short Vine festival work. She also plans to invite the Urban League.
“I think the young people will find the money if they really want to come,” Ms. Edwards said. “They need to be made to feel welcome.”
Last summer, the city initiated concerts in Eden Park to try to keep the crowds there. Mr. Mello said it had no positive effect on Corryville.
Wayne Bain, acting recreation director, said the Eden Park concerts should be better received this year. His department created a task force to meet with park regulars over the winter and has enlisted ra dio station WIZF-FM (100.9) to book music acts.
The cost for eight concerts beginning June 6 is $85,000, not including fire, police or community relations monitors.
But Mr. Bain said his conversations with young people have convinced him that the Eden Park concerts are not an answer to Corryville's problems.
“We may never stop the crowds in Corryville, and I don't think we will,” Mr. Bain said. “They call it a tradition.”
The University Village Association had originally requested 12 weeks of funding from city council. The festivals will cost about $11,000 a week, with the city paying $5,000 of that.
Councilman Phil Heimlich suggested a four-week trial.
Mrs. Mello predicted the first week of the Corryville festival would cause a stand-off, but young people will accept it the second week. She has five children, she said, three of whom are teen-agers.
“We really think by the second week, the kids will be saying, "Let's give it a shot,'” she said.
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