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The Inconvenience Store
A significant contributor to the ambiance of the Crossings (Camp & Cypress Streets) in Mt. Hope is what I call the "inconvenience store," a magnet for the 'hood's thugs. Yes, it's better than it was five years ago when the store's previous manager was selling drugs, but it still contributes to the poor atmosphere.
Since I live in a condo in the same building, I'm constantly picking up trash dropped by the store patrons, and even have to climb up on its roof to pick up cans, bottles and other refuse the pigs (thugs) toss up there. I suppose it's too much to ask that the store manager put a large trash container outside the door for patrons to dispose of their trash.
The inconvenience store recently began selling hot American and Spanish food. Unbelievably, I spotted the concessionaire dumping unbagged garbage in the store Dumpster, situated conveniently right under my living room windows. I witnessed him with a plastic trash container lined with a plastic bag dumping the food in the Dumpster, then drop the empty plastic liner in after it. How can anyone be THAT stupid? Because of his unsanitary practices, the Dumpster was swarming with flies during last week's hot and humid weather.
I complained to the concessionaire and the store clerk about the health hazard and was told it was being taken care of. Yeah, sure. On Thursday, I notified the state health department, which then closed down the hot food operation. The clerk and the concessionaire put two and two together and figured out it was I who caused the shutdown. They are angry. Well, so am I. They should have followed the food regulatory laws before starting to serve hot food. Thankfully, we won't be seeing chicken bones and half-eaten food on the streets or unbagged garbage in the Dumpster. Perhaps that will keep down the fly population.
Peter C.
Posted at September 2, 2007 03:09 PM