Problems at El Tropical spelled out at Ohio Liquor Control hearing
by Chuck Hoven

(Plain Press, February 2008) After years of dealing with problems stemming from El Tropical Night Club on W. 44th and Storer, residents and stakeholders of the neighborhood surrounding the club finally received a chance to testify before someone with the power and authority to remove the liquor license from the establishment.

About a dozen residents and stakeholders came to Cleveland City Hall on January 4th to testify via video at an Ohio Liquor Control hearing. Due to the number of people wanting to testify and a request by the attorney representing El Tropical for time to review videotapes submitted by residents, the hearing will be continued in late February or in March.

Removing the liquor license from the establishment may be the only way residents can regain control of their neighborhood short of drying up the precinct. A variance for a dance hall, granted years ago to a previous owner of another establishment at that location, allows El Tropical to operate as a nightclub.

The testimony that did occur powerfully presented a case of a liquor establishment creating numerous problems in a neighborhood setting.

Those testifying sat directly across a City Council committee room table from the owners of El Tropical and their lawyer. Ward 14 Councilman Joe Santiago, who sponsored legislation calling for the hearing, sat on the side of the table with those testifying against the club. Second District Police Officers, several neighborhood residents and Stockyard Executive Director Al Brazynetz each came one at a time to sit next to Santiago and testify before the video camera and the image of the State official listening in Columbus. Sue Bungard of the City of Cleveland Law Department sat at the head of the table and acted as a facilitator for the hearing.

A Second District Police officer testified to the number of citations issued by police officers on eight nights when they targeted areas around bars on Storer Avenue. The 181 citations issued during those special enforcement days included 40 traffic citations, 108 parking tickets, 5 citations for loud music, 1 bar fight, 2 drug abuse cases, 7 open containers, 19 minor misdemeanors and five vehicles towed. The officer testified that while the statistics were for all of Storer Avenue, most of the citations occurred around the two large nightclubs on the street – El Tropical on W. 44th and Storer and Latin Touch at W. 52nd and Storer.

The officer testified to loud music from El Tropical, parking issues around the club, loud talking by people hanging out outside El Tropical, and fights breaking out. He also testified to the large crowds emerging from the club at closing time.

Al Brazynetz, Executive Director of the Stockyards Area Development Association, testified about the problems residents reported about El Tropical at community meetings in the area served by his organization and another development corporation (Clark-Metro). Brazynetz cited several meetings where residents registered complaints. He said on September 25, 2004 in a meeting with the former councilperson (Nelson Cintron, Jr.) residents reported shootings, loud noise, prostitutes, drug activity and parking issues in the immediate area around El Tropical.

Brazynetz testified that El Tropical owners had agreed to add cameras, increase security and institute a last call policy asking people to be mindful of residents as they leave the establishment. He said things improved for a short time after the initiative.

In April of 2007, Brazynetz said, another community meeting was called due to an escalation of problems around the bar. Complaints were similar to those logged in the past. Carmello Colon, Jr. was present at the community meeting to represent El Tropical and expressed a desire to improve security. Brazynetz testified that things again  improved for a short while after the meeting, then escalated. The escalation included a June 9, 2007 fight that broke out outside El Tropical and spilled across the street to the lawn of a neighborhood resident. Residents and a Plain Dealer reporter and photographer witnessed the fight, in which five shots were fired on neighborhood resident’s lawn and a victim was rushed to Metro Health Medical Center with gunshot wounds.

Brazynetz said another community meeting was held following that incident. This time the bar ownership was not present. Residents discussed various strategies, which included objecting to the liquor license and drying up the precinct in which the bar is located. Brazynetz testified that the block club in the area had been formed as a result of problems at El Tropical. He said that at the club’s meetings, usually monthly, problems at the bar are always mentioned. Problems stemming from the bar include shootings and drug activity. He specifically mentioned a letter from one family living near El Tropical that had decided to move out of the neighborhood after bullets from gunshots came through the windows of their home.

Resident Rowena Ventura, who lives on Storer Avenue directly across from El Tropical, testified to witnessing several shootings, several fights (some described as gruesome bloody fights), drug activity, prostitution, peeling tires and people jumping out of cars. Ventura described the June 9th fight that broke out across the street at El Tropical and ended up on her front lawn where five shots were fired. A Plain Dealer reporter and photographer doing a story on quality of life problems in Cleveland neighborhoods witnessed the fight. Ventura described how she yelled at the reporter to hit the deck as soon as she saw a gun being drawn. Ventura showed pictures of the aftermath of the fight, which later appeared with a series of articles in the Plain Dealer in December 2007.

On weekends when the bar is open, said Ventura, her grandchildren sleep in a first floor in a room fortified to stop any bullets from penetrating the walls. Ventura said she is still witnessing fights outside the bar. Since the smoking ban in bars, people are hanging out outside when whether allows. Also noise can be heard from the bar itself, where she testified the music is way too loud. Ventura submitted into the record 40 hours of video tape to that she said showed some of the problems at the bar.

Ventura also submitted letters to council people, the minutes from neighborhood meetings and various other documents to support her testimony.

Ventura also took issue with the name on the liquor license (Heriberto Colón) not being that of Carmelo Colón, Jr., who she said has publicly stated he is the owner of the establishment and has represented the establishment as its owner. While the state of Ohio does not allow felons to have a liquor license, Ventura cited a number of felonies for which Carmelo Colón had been charged. She said Colón is “a very dangerous man.”

Another resident, who lives on W. 44th Street and has three children in her household, testified to dirty condoms and needles being left on her front lawn on weekend nights when El Tropical is open. She said she usually comes out each Sunday to clean up the mess. Her family can hear the noise from the crowd as they come down the street to their cars at 2:30 a.m. after the bar closes. She said they have had to call 911 when hearing gunshots outside.

After the resident’s testimony, with people for the next hearing already coming into the room, the parties agreed to come back at a future date in February or March for additional testimony. The attorney for El Tropical also requested the postponement so he could review the video tapes presented. City of Cleveland Attorney Bungard offered to help edit the video so key portions could be presented at the next hearing.

Several stakeholders gathered in City Hall after the hearing and talked about the testimony they hoped to give at the next meeting. A widow of a Cleveland fireman, who owns a vacant lot across from El Tropical, said she spent nine hours one Saturday cleaning up debris left on the lot by patrons of El Tropical who illegally park on her lot on weekends. She said debris includes beer bottles, ashtray contents and even baby diapers. She said she has had her life threatened while cleaning up the lot. She also received a fine for $306 from the city for maintaining a nuisance. She said Richard Silva, Commissioner of Parks and Recreation, later waived the fine after she demonstrated how much time and effort she had spent trying to keep the lot clean only to have it full of debris again.

Editor’s Note: Residents report that the El Tropical Building now has a For Sale sign on it but continues to operate. In the early morning hours of Saturday, January 26thh residents reported hearing an exchange of gunshots outside of the club.

(See related photos here)

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