About a dozen Villa Avenue residents attended the City Council meeting on Monday night to make the Council aware of a neighborhood problem that has dragged on for more than a year.
Three of the neighborhood residents rose to speak during the public participation portion of the meeting, to inform the Council that an auto repair shop operating at the corner of Villa and Ferry had created a nuisance for the neighborhood with illegal parking on both sides of the street, speeding up and down the street and rude behavior toward the residents.
City Clerk Sergio Cornelio also reported to the Council that he had begun the process of following up on the complaints as the agent of the Council was also greeted rudely by the business operator.
Upon hearing of the complaints and the behavior of the business operator, several councilors voiced support for revoking the business license and forcing the owner to meet publicly with the Council.
However, in the interests of following due process and giving the business owner an opportunity to correct the situation, Councilor Fred Capone recommended that the Council instruct the Clerk to schedule a hearing with the Council’s Committee on Community and Business Development and invite the new business owner, who sublets the license, the license holder and the property owner, as well as the neighbors.
The meeting will be scheduled for some time later in the summer.