Dear Neighbors:

For years, there had been a convenience store at the corner of 66th Street and Malvern Avenue selling takeout beer and malt liquor. That store recently closed and just reopened under new ownership. The business has two addresses: 6499 Malvern Avenue (that’s what’s on record with the city) and 1101 North 66th Street (that’s what’s on record with the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.)

The new owner is trying to get permission to take his beer and malt liquor sales one irresponsible step further. He wants to be able to set up tables and allow people to hang out there all day and night drinking beer and malt liquor, effectively opening a bar in the space. This would be very bad for the neighborhood.

Just look at the corner of 66th and Lebanon, which is one block from 66th and Malvern, and the corner of 66th and Lansdowne, which is one block beyond that. Both corners have establishments that serve alcohol. And both corners are notorious for crime and quality-of-life problems. Shootings, drug deals, fights, stabbings, loitering, garbage… you name it, and you can find it all at those corners. The corner of 66th and Malvern is quiet, relatively speaking, and we aim to keep it that way. We need to keep our children and our neighborhood safe.

This is not a done deal. You can file a formal objection with the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board until August 9th. For more information on that process, go here. Note that you must start the filing of an objection using the correct link, which cannot be pasted here. Go to this PLCB page using this link and scroll down until you see “File a Protest or Petition” in the blue box. Click on File Protest or Petition and enter the code 1116162 when prompted for the file number of application you’re protesting.

This can be a confusing process. If you live within 500 feet of the property (measured by a straight line — not driving directions), you file what the PLCB calls a protest. If you live further than 500 feet, you file what the PLCB calls a petition. If you’re not sure how to figure out how far you are away from 1101 North 66th Street, just type your address and that address into this site and then note the “straight line distance” provided in the results. If you need help understanding or completing the form, you can email us at overbrookunite@gmail.com.

If you’re filing a protest (meaning you live within 500 feet), you just enter the information online and hit submit. If you’re filing a petition (meaning you live more than 500 feet away), you have to serve the establishment with a copy of the petition. On the petition, when asked for the name of the person served, type in AHMI Enterprises Inc. You can then send the copy of the petition to the store by U.S. Mail. Or, you can bring it there in person. If you do it in person, keep a record of the name of the person you handed it to and the time and date you served it. If you’d rather not do this yourself, you can drop off the copy at the office of State Rep. Morgan Cephas (7538 Haverford Ave.) no later than Wednesday, August 9th, and she will hand deliver all of the gathered petitions to the store.

When you’re asked for a description on the PLCB site, this is where you explain that you don’t want this granted and you list the reasons why. These reasons can be all of the quality of life and crime problems associated with a place like this. In short, we don’t need more people drinking on the corner of all hours of the day and night and if that happens, this corner will be just like the other two corners mentioned.

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