Pasha Hookah Bar re-opens, neighbors upset
By: Rebecca Turco
Email: rturco@abc6.com
PROVIDENCE – The Pasha Hooka Bar in Providence has reopened, about a week after a 22 year-old was shot and killed outside there last week.
Many neighbors feels the bar opening again will only bring violence and disruption to the local community.
“Just disappointed in the city,” explained C. T. Young.
The bar had been closed since the fatal shooting. The murder is still an open case.
On Friday, the city’s board of licenses held an emergency hearing and decided to allow Pasha to reopen, with a police detail.
Some say that’s not enough. Neighbor Randy Lutz called the re-opening “ridiculous.” He has been outspoken about the bar since before it closed.
He works as a bouncer at clubs downtown and is used to that scene, but doesn’t want that near his home. “I come home from work and I see the mess that runs off of Pasha onto this street and it’s a problem, it’s a pain,” he explained.
Lutz told ABC6 News there is a history of violence linked to the bar, and he’s nervous for his wife and two sons. “[They are] my primary reason for being involved.”
Neighbor Dylan Tuttle became so sick of it all, he decided to move away. “It’s not really too safe of an area for us,” he said. “College kids [who] just graduated, so just trying to find a new safer community for us.”
As for Lutz, he won’t be keeping quiet anytime soon. “I’m going to start calling the police and calling in every complaint that I have, because obviously that’s what necessary,” he said.
The future of the bar will be discussed again next Wednesday, according to city officials. Some neighbors told ABC6 News they will start a petition if it comes down to it.
© WLNE-TV 2016
