Saturday, February 19, 2000
LaRosa's becomes police substation
BY SARA J. BENNETT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
FOREST PARK — A police officer filling out reports in a dark cruiser sparked a bright idea in Ed Meiners. The owner of LaRosa's on Northland Boulevard has donated a room at the back of his restaurant for a police substation.
The mini-headquarters will give officers on beat patrol a safe, bright spot to do their paperwork. More importantly, it will give residents and business owners easier access to police.
“It's a wonderful idea,” said Nina Whitaker, owner of Nina's Florist in the NorthPointe shopping center, site of the new substation. “There will be more police cruisers in sight. ...”
The new LaRosa's substation is the first step in an attempt by Forest Park police to get closer to people in their community. Police also want to create a bigger, more comprehensive substation at the Waycross Shopping Center.
That project calls for a joint effort between Forest Park and neighboring Springfield Township. It is still in the planning stages.
The LaRosa's substation, meanwhile, will open in a matter of weeks, as soon as carpeting is installed.
The station will be small. The city's DARE and crime prevention officers will be stationed there, and patrol officers will be able to use the space as needed.
Mr. Meiners got the idea to donate the room when he spotted a police officer writing reports in his cruiser late at night.
Taking a cue from the LaRosa's in Roselawn, which also has a police substation, Mr. Meiners invited Forest Park police to set up shop with him.
“These guys were sitting in the pitch black; and given the neighborhood the way it was then, it was pretty spooky,” he said. “If they're providing security for us, and I have a little space in the building, why not provide a little security for them?” Mr. Meiners said.
The area around LaRosa's doesn't have an exceptionally high incidence of crime, Ms. Whitaker said, but her shop has been broken into twice in the 17 years she has been in the shopping center.
The new substations should make it easier for people to get help from police, said Forest Park Sgt. Tony Vetere. It will save many from having to travel to the main station on West Kemper Road.
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