iBerkshires.com Columnist SectionSue Bush
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Restaurant Abutter Seeks Crime WatchBy Susan Bush
12:00AM / Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Clarksburg - The owner of a childcare center located near to the Mountainview Restaurant wants to launch a neighborhood crime watch.
Teri Goodermote said that she would like to organize a crime watch that would cover the area from the Clarksburg Elementary School through to North Eagle and North Houghton streets, including side roads such as Gleason and School streets and Gates Avenue.
Goodermote said that she is concerned about current problems allegedly rooted at the Mountainview restaurant and a possible increase in crime should the restaurant owner, Michael Milazzo, be granted an entertainment license that would permit nude dancing.
An Oct. 26 public hearing on the Milazzo request was continued to 7 p.m. tonight [Nov. 16] at the Town Hall on River Road in Clarksburg.
Not A "Citizen's Patrol"
Goodermote emphasized that a neighborhood crime watch is not the same as what is sometimes called a “citizen patrol.†Crime watch members would not "patrol" the region nor would they be called upon to respond to any type of suspicious activity or crime report. Neighborhood crime watch participants are not asked to be "on call" for any reason, she said. Any law enforcement would be handled by law enforcement officers, she stressed.
A crime watch is “neighbors agreeing to watch out for neighbors,†Goodermote said during a Nov. 16 morning interview.
“We’re probably going to be stuck with this [nude entertainment] in our town, and I think it would be good to have a crime watch,†she said.
Crime watch participants would pay extra attention to any suspicious activity occurring along their specific streets and report any such instances immediately to police. No crime watch participant would intervene in any suspicious or criminal sitaution, Goodermote said. In most cases, crime watch groups schedule an initial meeting with law enforcement officers who explain how a crime watch functions.
Possible Police Fundraisers
Goodermote said that she would also like to plan and sponsor fundraisers to benefit the town police department. During the Oct. 26 hearing, town police Chief Michael Williams told residents that town police officers are uncomfortable responding to complaints at the restaurant alone, and have requested to respond to restaurant complaints in pairs. Sending officers in pairs increases the town cost.
“The police department can’t go around asking for donations for this,†Goodermote said. “So I just thought that we could do some fundraisers and raise some money so that they can have what they need. This used to be a quiet little town. It’s not like that in this part of town anymore.â€
Issues Other Than Nudity
Goodermote spoke during the Oct. 26 hearing and told the residents in attendance that the childcare center she operates at 35 Jordan Ave. is her only means of support. She said that her daughter is frequently kept awake by loud music coming from the restaurant and also said that some of the parents of children she provides care to had informed her that they will remove their children from the center if the requested entertainment license is approved.
On Nov. 16, Goodermote said that one child has already been removed from the center because of the possibility of nude entertainment and the alleged existing problems at the restaurant. Goodermote provides evening and weekend childcare at the center as well as weekday care.
Neighbors of the restaurant have told Selectmen that there have been alleged instances of public urination, vandalism, fights, speeding, thrown beer bottles, and at least one situation involving nudity outside of the restaurant since the establishment opened in late 2004.
Stag Parties and Revues
A letter from Michael Milazzo was published in the Nov. 16 North Adams Transcript. Milazzo’s letter states that the restaurant is not seeking to offer nude entertainment on a regular basis but does want the ability to host occasional “stag parties†and male/female revues. Milazzo said in the letter “As I have explained, I was looking for a license to cover certain events but I was forced to request the full nudity section to cover those events, as there is no choice [on the application] for specific events.â€
The letter is Milazzo’s first public statement about the license request; when asked to speak to residents during the Oct. 26 public hearing, Michael Milazzo declined to speak and resident questions were fielded by Milazzo’s attorney, Daniel Kelly, of the Springfield-based Robinson Donovan law firm.
Susan Bush may be reached via e-mail at www.iberkshires.com or at 802-823-9367.
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