Reading City Council members say illegal and nuisance activities call for action

Aug. 22—Blaring music, littering, drag racing, unlicensed motorbike riding and other illegal activities have long been associated with Reading's riverfront and mountaintop.

But a general disregard for the law and common civility is becoming a problem throughout the city, some City Council members say.

"It just seems that there's just such a terrible lack of civility and kindness towards each other and that this is considered OK," Council President Donna Reed said. "I still find it hard to understand because the quality of life is absolutely being impacted: the ecological quality of life and the environmental quality of life."

Reed said her objection to the loud music, running of red lights, littering and other unlawful activities has nothing to do with her age and culture.

"It's because it's wrong," she said. "There's really no reason people can't live in peace with each other."

Reed called for tougher law enforcement and a show of solidarity by council members against lawlessness.

"We protest so many different things," Reed said. "Why can't the good folks protest this?"

The topic was introduced by Councilwoman Marcia Goodman-Hinnershitz at council's committee of whole meeting Monday, after another weekend of rowdy behavior and two deaths.

Khareem Porter, 46, was found dead Saturday night in the water near the Schuylkill River's Bertolet Fishing Dock in West Reading.

Earlier that afternoon, Kihurani Gakuu, 66, of East Caln Township, Chester County, was killed when he lost control of his vehicle and hit a tree on Skyline Drive during the Duryea Hillclimb race time trials.

"Unfortunately, we saw a tragedy down on the river," Goodman-Hinnershitz said, "and unfortunately, at the end of the race, the tragic race."

Sunday's final day of competition was canceled due to the accident, but that did not curtail activity on the mountaintop, she said.

"There was a lot of intense, intense activity going on at the Pagoda," the councilwoman said, noting reports of fighting, littering and a car going over an embankment near the Pagoda.

"I don't know what the outcome of that was," Goodman-Hinnershitz said.

A vehicle collided with a guard rail near the Pagoda entrance around 11 p.m. Saturday, according to a post on the Fire Alerts of Berks County Facebook page.

No report on the incident could be found, the police department told the Reading Eagle.

The situation on the mountain and at the riverfront is causing the city to get a bad reputation, Reed said, noting much of the riverfront activity has shifted from Riverfront Park near Reading Area Community College to Confluence Point in the Glenside area.

"It's demeaning our city," she said. "It's giving us a horrible name in the public eyes."

She and other council members called for stronger enforcement of nuisance and other laws in the two hotspots.

Council at a meeting last week discussed optimal uses for the city's recreation points.

"We need to now sit down and talk about the enforcement plan," Goodman Hinnershitz said. "This is just inconceivable that the general public who want to use these properties in a responsible way can't because we're pandering to the people who are destroying them. I want to be able to have some concrete answers about what's going on in enforcement."

Councilwoman Wanda Negron called for a town meeting to help educate the public on the issue.

"Try to tell them and maybe educate them," she said, suggesting education is a way to help change attitudes and behavior.

But Councilwoman Melissa Ventura disagreed. It's more than a matter of education, she said. Scofflaws know better, Ventura said, but choose to ignore the laws.

That is one of the reasons, the city opted to allow only planned, licensed events at the Pagoda, she noted.

"We (council) get looked as the bad guys because we want to allow only planned events up there," she said. "But we deal with the aftermath. And people don't get that."

The lawlessness also takes place outside the city's recreation areas and tourist attractions, she said.

Reckless driving, including speeding and running redlights, is more than a nuisance and poses a public danger, she said, describing the vehicles speeding on North 13th Street near her home as "insane."

"We have no way of enforcing speeding in the city," Ventura said. "We're not enforcing that and it's out of control."

Pennsylvania is the only state in which local police cannot use radar to track speeding, said William Heim, city managing director.

A former city police chief, Heim last served as chief of Muhlenberg Township's police department. In that role, he said, he ordered some radar devices for training in the hope the state law would change.

"They (legislators) keep promising us, keep saying we're getting close," Heim said. "But that was a couple of years ago and we still don't have the legal use of radar."

Reed asked Ventura to investigate some ideas of what council might do legislatively and to take a stand.

"We're not doing it anti-administration or anti-police force, because we're very supportive," Reed said. "But how can we say enough is enough?"