`through The Woods' Is The Part Of Thanksgiving Day To Savor Gratefully

A Recipe Too Good To Make

By DONNA THOMAS donnat@leader.net
 Wednesday, November 22, 2000 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 9A 





Residents shouted. Police shouted. Even the mayor of Wilkes-Barre shouted. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 That was the scene at a Rolling Mill Hill Crime Watch special meeting about
Desi's Famous Pizza on Hazle Avenue - a bar that police and residents say is a
nuisance. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Public officials were outspoken. When residents began attacking the city
for lack of police protection, Mayor Thomas McGroarty rattled off the number
of officers on duty the night of last week's shooting near Desi's. City
Councilwoman Kathy Kane disputed his numbers, and McGroarty shouted that she
should run for mayor. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The meeting became so volatile that Police Chief Tony George called the
meeting closed within 35 minutes. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Parents, with young and frightened-looking children in tow, left the
meeting early as supporters of Desi's Pizza screamed accusations of unfairness
and police hollered just as loudly back - for them to settle down. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Many shouters called for the closing of the Whitehouse Cafe, another Hazle
Avenue bar and the site of a shooting last week. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Desi's Pizza will remain open for now. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Many residents of the Rolling Mill Hill section of Wilkes-Barre went home
disappointed after the meeting Tuesday night. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``The people are here tonight because they thought (the city) was going to
close Desi's,'' said a disappointed Leona Flannery as she left the meeting.
``They will never get this crowd again.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Luzerne County District Attorney's Office is investigating the bar and,
trying to obtain an injunction to shut it down, calling it a nuisance bar.
Surveys were handed out at the meeting in an effort to help the district
attorney make a case to close the bar. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Several incidents at Desi's Pizza on Hazle Avenue prompted the city to vow
to close the restaurant and bar down this week. The latest incident was on
Nov. 13, when a man was shot outside the establishment. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 About 150 people showed up for the Crime Watch meeting in St. Patrick's
Church on Parrish Street to hear from police and other officials what was
being done about the establishment. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Owners of Desi's have cried discrimination, saying the city is targeting
their business. They say crime has run rampant in the city and their business
is being used as a scapegoat. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The shooting incident was one of the 52 times the police were called to
Desi's in 2 1/2 years, Chief George told the crowd. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 George blamed the bar for area crimes that ranged from disorderly conduct
to 30 stolen cars in one year - half the total amount in the entire city. He
introduced Assistant District Attorney Tim Doherty, who announced that the
District Attorney's office is investigating. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``For us to go downtown, into court and seek a temporary injunction we
would have to get information from the neighbors,'' said Doherty. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 He asked residents to fill out a survey outlining what they see happening
around Desi's. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Before he could finish his sentence, several shouts of ``What about the
Whitehouse?'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``You closed down Chu's and it moved to Desi's,'' said a local bar owner,
who didn't want his name used. He said he was afraid the city would try to
shut him down as well. Drug activity is not just drawn to bars. You want me to
police my area but then you have a book this fat of police calls and call me a
nuisance bar.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Peggy Felton, who came to the meeting with her husband Ron Felton,
president of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement
of Colored People, said that you just can't blame the bars - or out-of-towners
- for crime in the neighborhood. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``You need to get rid of the elements that do the crime,'' Felton said.
``Do you think if you close the bars they're not going to go somewhere else?'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Angry Words Fly During W-b Crime Meeting 
Police Chief Cuts Meeting Short As Residents Complain Hazle Avenue Bars Are
Source Of Crime And Shootings In Rolling Mill Hill Section Of Town.

Angry Words Fly During W-b Crime Meeting Police Chief Cuts Meeting Short As Residents Complain Hazle Avenue Bars Are Source Of Crime And Shootings In Rolling Mill Hill Section Of Town.