Tag Archives: Tony Paliometros

Restaurant, retail, apartments headed to Harrisburg’s 3rd Street, following bar closures, sales

July 14, 2021 | by Lawrance Binda

Two former Harrisburg bars, Third Street Cafe (left) and the Taproom (right), have been sold and are slated for restoration.

Two Midtown bars once targeted for closure by Harrisburg’s mayor have been sold, with plans to create a restaurant, retail space and apartments.

On Tuesday, restaurateur Josh Kesler bought 1400 N. 3^rd St., which most recently housed the Third Street Café, and, before that, the 1400 Club and Club Wanda’s.

Kesler, who owns the Millworks in Midtown and the Watershed Pub in Camp Hill, said that he would like to open a two-floor restaurant/bar, but doesn’t yet have a firm plan for the two-story, 2,500-square-foot space.

“I want to do something cool and creative, something that adds uniqueness to the neighborhood,” said Kesler, who paid $153,000 for the building. “It could be a great asset to the commercial district there.”

He expects to complete the renovation and open in 2022, perhaps with a business partner.

The Third Street Café has been closed since April under terms of a conditional licensing agreement between the owners and the PA Liquor Control Board (see CLA – LID 64506 (1).). The owners since have placed the license into safekeeping, according to their attorney, Chris Wilson.

The co-owners of the Third Street Café, Anthony Paliometros and the heirs of the late Frank Karnouskos, also owned the building next door, 1402 N. 3^rd St., once the home of the Taproom bar.

On Tuesday, Sean Linder and his Bethlehem-based investment group, SJL Rentals LLC, bought that building for $231,000. Paliometros and Karnouskos purchased it in 2016 for $92,000, according to Dauphin County.

Reached by phone, Linder said that he plans to undertake a restoration of the three-story, 4,000-square-foot building, creating five market-rate apartments with commercial space on the first floor. He also plans a small addition in the rear, which would add another 350 square feet of space.

“Midtown is obviously an up-and-coming area,” Linder said, when asked why he was interested in the building. “There’s a lot of great development going on in the city.”

Linder credited Justin Heinly of Midtown Property Management for bringing the property to his attention and mentioned that anyone interested in the first-floor retail space should contact Heinly.

“If there’s any retailer or tenants looking for space, this would be a great opportunity for them,” Linder said.

He said he expects to complete the building renovation by spring 2022.

Notably, in 2015, Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse tried to revoke the business licenses of both bars, claiming that they were “nuisance bars.”

Dave Larche, then the owner of the Taproom, agreed to close his bar and later sold his building to his next-door neighbors, Paliometros and Karnouskos. For their part, Paliometros and Karnouskos repeatedly appealed the city’s business license revocation, eventually winning their case in court.

Alice Anne Schwab, the executive director of the Susquehanna Art Museum, located directly across the street from the bars, said that she looks forward to the renovations of the two buildings.

“We’re super-excited about something positive happening there,” she said. “The proposals I have heard about are really very much in keeping with businesses that are above board and operate with the public interest in mind.”

Kesler said that, in part, he was motivated to make the purchase in order to add to the growing vibrancy of the Midtown commercial district on 3^rd Street, where numerous small businesses have opened recently.

“[The bar] was making walkers feel uncomfortable and affecting the businesses around it,” he said. “I think this a good step for the neighborhood.”

Linder added that he also wanted to ensure that the block retained its architectural character.

“For years, they just let their beautiful buildings deteriorate,” he said. “There’s so much historical integrity there that needs to be preserved.”

This story has been updated.

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Another Round: Third Street Cafe back in court, this time to defend liquor license

May 3, 2018 | by Lizzy Hardison

Third Street Cafe, on the corner of N. 3rd and Calder streets in Midtown Harrisburg

After winning a lengthy fight with the city of Harrisburg to keep its business license, an embattled midtown bar is facing a new challenge in court.

It has to convince the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board to renew its liquor license, despite allegations that it’s failed to uphold terms of a conditional agreement.

Third Street Café, which Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse deemed a “nuisance bar” and targeted for closure in 2015, is currently operating under an expired liquor license. A hearing held this morning will help the PLCB determine whether or not the establishment on N. 3rd and Calder streets will have its license renewed.

The hearing offered Anthony Paliometros, owner of Third Street Café, the chance to explain citations issued to the bar since 2016, two years after it entered a conditional licensing agreement with PLCB.

Among other provisions, that agreement required the bar’s staff to install new cameras, institute routine security patrols, and maintain a detailed security log and a list of banned patrons.

The terms of the agreement remain attached to Third Street’s liquor license until the PLCB decides to expunge them. The bar last renewed its license in 2016, but it faced a challenge when it sought another two-year renewal this year.

Since 2016, Pennsylvania State Police have cited the bar for failure to display its liquor license and furnish security records. It has also been the site of multiple police calls.

PLCB attorney Jessica Lathrop raised each of those points while making her case against the bar in today’s hearing, but Paliometros testified that circumstances surrounding those infractions have been rectified.

For instance, the liquor license that was previously obscured is now displayed prominently on the café wall under transparent glass, Paliometros said.

He also claimed that his staff had simply misplaced the bar’s security logs. Paliometros signed a waiver of citation after he could not produce records for the PLCB to prove that he had implemented routine security patrols.

Today, he admitted that signing that waiver was a mistake, since the security logs were later recovered. His attorney, James Petrascu, presented them as evidence in today’s hearing.

Lathrop spent most of the hearing interrogating the bar’s history of police action and its perceived lack of security. She called three former Harrisburg police officers as witnesses, all of whom testified about calls they received to the establishment since 2016.

One former officer, Kevin Ruff, responded to reports of a fight and shots fired at Third Street Café in June 2016. He testified that a man he believed to be the bar’s bouncer was visibly intoxicated.

State law prohibits servers and security personnel from drinking on the job. Paliometros testified that his security guard had not appeared intoxicated when he reported for work that night.

“If they come and they’ve been drinking, we send them home,” he said.

Ruff said that the alleged fight inside the bar had disbanded before he arrived. Officers found shell casings and one live round in the street one block east of the bar, but their investigation did not result in any arrests or charges.

Another officer testified that he recovered marijuana from a patron whom he arrested in the bar in 2017, when he was investigating a sighting of a wanted person.

Petrascu acknowledged that bar owners have responsibility “to a certain point” for the behavior of their patrons in and around their establishment. But he questioned whether his client could be held accountable for a patron’s drug possession.

He also objected to the testimony of Lathrop’s last witness, Alice Anne Schwab, director of the Susquehanna Art Museum.

SAM sits directly across the street from Third Street Café, and Schwab said she has seen “countless” visibly intoxicated patrons leave the establishment to urinate.

Petrascu said that Schwab’s testimony fell outside the scope of the specific inquiries raised by the PLCB. What’s more, he said, the witness could not prove that bartenders served the patrons once they became visibly intoxicated.

Hearing examiner Thomas Miller acknowledged that Schwab’s testimony drew them away from PLCB’s initial points of investigation.

“This is a thorny issue,” Miller said. “We’re definitely in a gray area here.”

Lathrop ultimately called Schwab as a rebuttal witness, since her testimony contradicted Paliometros’s claims that his bar does not serve visibly intoxicated patrons. Schwab claimed that drunken patrons would leave the bar with to-go beer and liquor, which the Third Street Cafe is licensed to sell.

The hearing concluded after almost four hours of testimony. Miller must now make a recommendation to the PLCB to either renew or revoke Third Street Cafe’s liquor license. He does not have a deadline to submit his opinion.

Petrascu, who previously served as a PLCB attorney, successfully represented Third Street Café when the owners faced a challenge to their license in 2014. After today’s hearing, he expressed confidence that this appeal would have the same outcome.

A Tale of 2 Bars: Third Street Cafe Owners Buy Former Taproom

November 8, 2016 | by Lawrance Binda

The owners of the Third Street Cafe have bought the bar next door.

The owners of an embattled Midtown bar have bought the bar next door, adding another wrinkle to their long conflict with the city.

Last Friday, the owners of the Third Street Café, Tony Paliometros and Frank Karnouskos, closed on the purchase of the former Taproom, according to the Dauphin County Recorder of Deeds. The bars are located directly next to each other along the 1400-block of N. 3^rd Street in Harrisburg.

Chris Wilson, attorney for the Third Street Café, characterized the purchase as an opportunistic investment. He said that his clients’ plans are not yet firm, but, at some point, they hope to knock down the interior wall separating the buildings to expand their business.

Wilson added that Paliometros and Karnouskos would like to make substantial improvements to the former Taproom as part of the expansion.

“My clients are interested in investing and making the property better and the business nicer,” he said.

The Third Street Café has been locked in conflict with the Papenfuse administration since March 2015, when the owners received notification that the city was revoking their business license. The city then refused to issue the bar a 2016 business license.

The bar owners appealed both the license revocation and the denial to the Dauphin County court. Several months ago, Judge Andrew Dowling rejected the city’s argument that the bar was a magnet for trouble. He also said that state laws trump local regulations for establishments that hold liquor licenses. He then ordered the city to issue the Third Street Café a business license, a decision the city has appealed to the Commonwealth Court.

Coincidentally, the city also revoked the Taproom’s business license last year. Owner Dave Larche did not appeal and closed down his business at the end of 2015. Several months ago, he put the property on the market for $129,000, eventually selling it to Paliometros and Karnouskos for $92,000.

Wilson said that the building’s new owners hope to work with the city as they go about renovating the property. He acknowledged that the long-dilapidated block is undergoing rapid redevelopment, which may lead his clients to rethink their business model, possibly expanding food and drink options.

Last year, the sleek, new Susquehanna Art Museum opened directly across the street and, this year, ModernRugs.com began renovating two large, long-blighted buildings on the block—the former home of the local Volunteers of America and of Midtown Paint & Hardware. Just yesterday, Mayor Eric Papenfuse received permission from the Harrisburg Architectural Review Board to begin façade improvements to the properties that he owns on that block at 1421-23 N. 3^rd St.

Papenfuse declined comment for this story.

Author: Lawrance Binda

Razing the Bar: A sober assessment of Harrisburg’s attempt to shut down the Third Street Cafe.

February 29, 2016 | by Lawrance Binda

When you walk into the Third Street Café, your first reaction may well be: This is what all the fuss is about?

The bar is basic, unimposing, a snug space that clocks in at no more than 700 square feet, most of it occupied by a long bar with maybe a dozen seats.

It seems an odd place to generate so much passion, one tiny business in a city dense with them.

As a Midtown resident who’s witnessed all manner of human dysfunction near the bar at the corner of N. 3^rd and Calder, I have no great affection for the Third Street Café. But, as someone who writes often on urban subjects—and about Harrisburg specifically—I find the issue fascinating.

The case of the Third Street Café is something of a microcosm of so many issues facing cities today, particularly in changing neighborhoods. It’s a battle between private interests and public welfare; it’s a complex story involving class, race and community.

Legal Case: It’s been nearly a year since Harrisburg first notified the Third Street Café that it was revoking its business license. Nonetheless, the bar remains open, which may indicate that the city’s pure legal case is not that strong. That’s certainly what the bar’s attorney, Chris Wilson, believes—and he has let me know his position in no uncertain terms. The thing is: he has a point. The city cited nine alleged criminal incidents in or near the bar to support its contention that it should be closed. Several, however, were not linked to bar patrons, others were relatively minor and the most serious one, an alleged drug deal, involved a Harrisburg police operation. Since then, a December shooting just outside the bar, which included two men who had been briefly inside, may have given the city additional support for its position. Still, to me, the city’s legal case is hardly a slam-dunk, which, to the bar and its attorney, is what matters most.

Business/Property Rights: In this country, denying someone the right to legally run a business is serious stuff, something acknowledged by all sides in the conflict. That’s clearly a principal concern of the Republican county judge, Andrew Dowling, who, last September, allowed the bar to remain open pending a decision because of the “irreparable injury” the bar’s owner, Tony Paliometros, would suffer. Dowling later barred the city from fining Paliometros until the city’s License and Tax Appeal Board issues a verdict on the city’s refusal to issue a 2016 license.

Community Impact: The bar has acknowledged problems near it, but has absolved itself of blame, saying that it has the simple bad luck of operating in a high-crime area. Moreover, Wilson has said the bar has acted in good faith by increasing its vigilance, installing exterior cameras and offering to share camera footage with the police. Nonetheless, the city believes that the bar still attracts people who engage in undesirable behavior—that it acts as a magnet for trouble. On this point, I have to side with the city. I’m on that block almost every day and can attest that, while the December shooting may have been an anomaly, problems near the bar—including vagrancy, public intoxication, littering, loitering, panhandling and loud, drunken arguments—are practically daily occurrences.

Municipal Prerogative: In its business license handbook, Harrisburg explicitly states that it reserves the right to revoke a license for criminal behavior, “gross negligence” or allowing a “public nuisance.” To date, that clause, a potentially powerful governmental tool, has proven difficult for the city to enforce. So, is this the right way for Harrisburg to close down the bar? Wilson says no, that the PA Liquor Control Board is the place to go to seek redress, that the PLCB has an established process to yank the liquor licenses of so-called nuisance bars (a Section 611 action). He told me that closing a bar can be a “quick procedure” and, for proof, linked me to a 25-year-old case against a Harrisburg bar called Vanity that was closed after just 2½ months. I found his example to be selective since, more typically, that process can continue for years (in fact, even the Vanity case took three years to fully adjudicate). To that point, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ran a story in December how most Section 611 actions in that city drag on and on, allowing troubled and crime-ridden bars to remain open indefinitely.

Race/Gentrification: The 3^rd Street Café’s patrons are mostly—though not exclusively—African American and working class, leading some to claim that Mayor Eric Papenfuse wants to clear the area for more upscale (and whiter) projects. And, whenever this issue comes up, someone points to the mayor’s own business interests in the neighborhood. Papenfuse has countered that he also targeted the Taproom next door, a bar with a more diverse clientele, and the Royal Pub, a bar located Uptown (both have since closed). This may be the thorniest issue in the debate. Closing the bar indeed would shut down a business that caters mostly to black customers (though its owner is a white guy from the suburbs). But several developers have told me that they believe the bar (and what goes on outside it) is holding back revitalization of the critical, centrally located 1400-block of N. 3^rd Street.

So, there it is, fascinating complexity in one tiny bar. If you’re the bar’s attorney, the legal case probably matters most; if you’re the judge, it may be the rights of the business owner; if you’re the mayor, it may be the general improvement of Midtown and even Harrisburg itself.

My focus is on community impact. No business has the right to detrimentally affect a community, creating concerns about safety and retarding its development. In my view, that’s what’s happening at the corner of 3^rd and Calder.

Lawrance Binda is editor-in-chief of TheBurg.

September News Digest

September 30, 2015 | by Lawrance Binda

Tax Hike Suggested

Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse last month proposed tripling the local services tax to help close an estimated $6 million budget gap for the year.

Papenfuse introduced the idea during the annual State of the City address, saying that the Harrisburg Strong financial recovery plan needed to be amended because some revenues, including parking revenues due to enforcement snags, have fallen short of projections.

Under this plan, the local services tax would increase from $1 to $3 per worker per week. The increase would generate about $4 million a year, according to the administration.

The increase must be passed by City Council and approved by the Commonwealth Court. Papenfuse later said that Fred Reddig, a state official and the city’s Act 47 coordinator, supports the idea.

During his speech, Papenfuse also urged Harrisburg-based businesses to help the city financially by ceasing to use private haulers for trash collection. In addition, he floated the idea that the city should consider Home Rule, which would allow it to have greater control in its own affairs.

Papenfuse said that Home Rule was the “only real way out” of Act 47 financial oversight. Many municipalities in Pennsylvania, including Carlisle, have Home Rule charters, but achieving Home Rule would take years.

Reed to Stand Trial

The criminal case against former Harrisburg Mayor Steve Reed will go to trial, a judge determined last month.

Following a daylong preliminary hearing, Senior Magisterial District Judge Richard Cashman said the state could proceed with a case against Reed on all 485 counts against him, covering a wide range of alleged corruption.

At the hearing, the prosecution presented evidence that Reed had violated numerous laws, including that he had kept in his possession hundreds of artifacts purchased with city money. Reed allegedly bought the artifacts for several museums that he had proposed building in the city.

The defense team, led by Henry Hockheimer of the Philadelphia-based firm of Ballard Spahr, refuted those charges, stating that the property rightfully belonged to Reed.

Separately, Reed’s attorneys last month filed a motion asking the court to dismiss more than 300 counts against him, claiming they were not valid because the statute of limitations had expired.

Sinkhole Application Favored

The state has ranked Harrisburg first in Pennsylvania to receive federal sinkhole mitigation funds, the city learned last month.

The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency sent a letter to Harrisburg saying its application for a federal Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant for sinkhole remediation had been ranked No. 1 in the state.

The city is seeking grants for sinkhole repair and home demolition and buyouts in a hard-hit area of S. 14^th Street.

The state support, while positive, does not guarantee that Harrisburg will receive the award, said Mayor Eric Papenfuse. Only state emergency management agencies are eligible to apply for grants under the program, but awards are not allocated on a state-by-state basis.

LED Project Gets Green Light

Harrisburg’s plan to upgrade all of its streetlights with long-lasting LED lights is set to begin this month after the City Council approved funding for the project.

Council last month voted unanimously to borrow $3.2 million from M&T Bank for the LED conversion project, the city’s first major borrowing since the financial crisis shut it off from the credit markets. Council then voted unanimously to contract with The Efficiency Network, based in Pittsburgh, to perform the citywide installation of about 6,000 lights.

The administration estimates that the upgrade will save the city about $500,000 annually in energy costs, which should cover the cost of the financing. As part of its contract, The Efficiency Network guarantees the savings for a 10-year period.

Mayor Eric Papenfuse said much of the work would be done this fall, but probably would not be completed until early next year.

Council also authorized the administration to apply for a $3.6 million grant from Impact Harrisburg, a nonprofit set up as part of the city’s financial recovery plan to assist its infrastructure and economic development efforts. Impact Harrisburg is in the process of hiring an executive director, which it must do before considering applications for grants.

If Harrisburg receives the money, the city would pay off the loan early and use the savings from reduced energy costs for other purposes, Papenfuse said. The loan carries a prepayment penalty of 3 percent.

The city already has received a grant of $500,000 to offset some of the cost of the LED project.

Campbell Gets Probation

Former Harrisburg Treasurer John Campbell last month was sentenced to three years of probation for stealing money from three nonprofit organizations.

As part of his sentence, Campbell turned over a restitution check for $26,230, which will repay Historic Harrisburg Association, the Capital Region Stonewall Democrats and Lighten Up Harrisburg for the thefts.

In all, Campbell pled guilty to one misdemeanor and two felony counts.

Campbell was executive director of Historic Harrisburg and a volunteer treasurer for both Lighten Up Harrisburg and the Stonewall Democrats when the thefts occurred. He was not charged with any crimes in his capacity as city treasurer.

Dauphin County Common Pleas Judge Scott A. Evans is allowing Campbell to serve his probation in the Washington, D.C., area, where he now lives.

Bar Loses Appeal

A Midtown Harrisburg bar targeted for closure by the city has lost its appeal, and now has taken its case to court.

The city’s License and Tax Appeal Review Board rejected the effort by the Third Street Café (formerly Club 1400) to retain its business license and continue operating from its building at the corner of N. 3rd and Calder streets.

The three-person appeals board unanimously sided with the city, which alleges that the bar attracts criminal behavior, especially drug activity.

“The owners and operators of the Third Street Café consented to or allowed behavior on and around the premises that constituted crimes under federal, state and local laws,” concluded the board in its Aug. 28 decision.

The city has tried for months to revoke the bar’s business license. In late March, it sent owner Tony Paliometros a letter stating it planned to revoke the license, giving him 30 days to cease operations. Paliometros appealed the revocation, and a one-day appeals hearing was held in late May.

After losing the appeal, Paliometros immediately appealed that decision to the Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas and was granted a stay to remain open. The court appeal is scheduled for Oct. 9.

Housing Market Stable

Housing sales and prices were relatively stable in August, compared to the same period last year.

Throughout the region, 783 houses sold at a median sales price of $165,000, according to the Greater Harrisburg Association of Realtors. In August 2014, 781 houses sold for a median price of $165,000.

In Dauphin County, 265 houses sold at a median price of $144,900. In Cumberland County, 268 houses sold for a median price of $179,900 and, in Perry County, 27 houses sold for a median price of $165,000.

So Noted

The Harrisburg Downtown Improvement District and Recycle Bicycle last month launched a Downtown Bike Library, which allows people to borrow and then return a bike, a helmet and a lock at no cost from the HDID office at 22 N. 2^nd St. This program is considered a pilot program to the Bike Share Harrisburg initiative that is in the works to bring a bike share program to the city.

The Millworks last month started a lunch service, which begins at 11 a.m. Tuesday to Friday. The Midtown Harrisburg restaurant and art space opened in March for dinner, Tuesday through Sunday. It then added weekend brunch hours.

Bricco halted its lunch service last month in favor of expanding its catering business with Ciao! Bakery, in an endeavor now called Bricco-Ciao! Catering. The menu consists of both Ciao’s sandwiches and Bricco’s Mediterranean-inspired dishes. Bricco, at the corner of S. 3^rd and Chestnut streets, remains open for dinner.

The Kitchen at H*MAC last month announced new lunch and brunch hours. The restaurant, located at 1110 N. 3^rd St., Harrisburg, now is open for lunch on Monday to Friday beginning at 11 a.m. and for brunch on Saturday and Sunday beginning at 10 a.m.

Arepa City, which specialized in the Venezuelan sandwich called the arepa, closed last month after more than six years in downtown Harrisburg. Owner Daniel Farias said customers didn’t follow the restaurant after it moved into larger space further down N. 2^nd Street. Farias said he plans to continue his catering business.

Frederic Loraschi Chocolate opened a retail location and production facility at 4615 Hillcrest St. in Colonial Park. For years, the chocolatier has made his high-end confections from a converted kitchen in the basement of his Hummelstown home. The new shop allows consumers to buy directly from him.

Changing Hands

Berryhill St., 2101: R. Pickles to D. Maxwell, $96,500

Calder St., 116: M. DePhilip to D. Goldman, $150,000

Chestnut St., 2100: W. & K. Richards to H. Trauffer, $65,000

Curtin St., 543, 2135 N. 4^th St., 1949 Berryhill St., 545 Benton St. & 2314 N. 4^th St.: Susquehanna Bank to MBHH RE LLC, $107,000

Graham St., 118: B. & K. Elgart & Cartus Financial Corp. to P. Furlong, $219,900

Green St., 1924: D. Miller & R. Finley to G. O’Loughlin, $214,900

Hale Ave., 428: Metro Bank to T. & K. Vu, $42,500

Herr St., 409: W. & F. Moore to D. Jordan, $106,000

Industrial Rd., 3360: Conewago Contractors Inc. to Norfolk Southern Railway Co., $7,500,000

Kelker St., 319: K. Hancock to J. Marks, $60,000

N. 2^nd St., 1311: J. Feldman to T. Gray, $78,700

N. 2^nd St., 1406: F. Magaro to C. Albers, $149,000

N. 2^nd St., 1520: E. Spaar to N. & R. Masterson, $94,000

N. 2^nd St., 1708: D. Shreve to J. Seigle, $171,300

N. 2^nd St., 1829: E. Stuckey to M. Nolt, $126,000

N. 2^nd St., 3206: R. & P. Kotz to S. Margut, $178,000

N. 3^rd St., 1606: Fannie Mae to Anselmo Brothers Partnership, $52,500

N. 3^rd St., 2243: Kusic Financial Services LLC to A. & M. Collins, $58,000

N. Front St., 2609: Supreme Forest of Tall Cedars to A. Hartzler, $225,000

Penn St., 1820: Bayview Loan Servicing LLC to PA Deals LLC, $50,250

Penn St., 1917: S. Stauffer to S. Cline & J. Lemon, $118,500

Penn St., 1920: WCI Partners LP to C. Clabaugh, $159,900

Rudy Rd., 2141: A. McKenna to M. McNelis, $142,900

Rumson Dr., 2586: Beneficial Consumer Discount Co. to PA Deals LLC, $43,299

Schuykill St., 518 & 522: M. & A. Parsons to J. & B. Readinger, $37,500

S. 15^th St., 347, 1529 Catherine St., 1615 Naudain St., 30 Balm St., 1822 Park St. & 22 Balm St.: I. Colon to C. Harp, $30,000

S. Front St., 555: Ashbury Foundation to D. Ogg, $82,500

State St., 115: Pennsylvania Bar Association to Commonwealth Strategic Solutions LLC, $172,000

State St., 231, Unit 504: LUX 1 LP to M. & K. Lastrina, $144,900

State St., 231, Unit 505: LUX 1 LP to M & K. Lastrina, $154,900

State St., 1336: D. Pinnock to D. Vining, $37,000

Susquehanna St., 1833: G. & K. Ender to J. Secrest, $42,500

Swatara St., 2416: M. Gaston et al to D. & E. Davenport, $129,600

Thompson St., 1257: Jamil Karim LLC to Harrisburg Housing Authority, $80,000

Woodbine St., 502: K. Bethea to C. Guerrier, $40,000

Harrisburg property sales for August 2015, greater than $30,000. Source: Dauphin County. Data is assumed to be accurate.

Liquor Control

September 18, 2015 | by Lawrance Binda

The Third Street Cafe, with the Taproom directly next door.

What responsibility does a private business have to its community?

That question came to my mind recently after sitting through a court hearing on the city’s continuing effort to revoke the business license of the Third Street Café (formerly Club 1400).

At the hearing, the city told Court of Common Pleas Judge Andrew Dowling of repeated criminal incidents in and around the bar at the corner of N. 3^rd and Calder streets over the past two years.

That’s why, said city Solicitor Neil Grover, the city yanked the bar’s business license, an action upheld in late August by the three-person Business Privilege and Mercantile License Appeal Board.

The bar then appealed that decision to the Dauphin County court, which was why Dowling was now involved. He would decide whether to allow the bar to stay open until the court could consider the appeal.

At the hearing, Grover ticked off allegations against the Third Street Café:

In March, a guy was assaulted at the bar’s front door.
In May, a woman was badly beaten in the alley in back of the bar.
In May, a drug transaction was arranged inside the bar and took place outside.

There was other criminal activity, too, Grover said, eight specific incidents since March 2014.

The bar’s attorney, Christopher Wilson, refuted them all.

He said that the owner, Tony Paliometros, could not be held responsible for actions outside his bar, even if they were at the front door, or in the back alley, and even if they involved his patrons, who he could not control. As for the drug transaction—that was a Harrisburg police setup, he said.

And to the extent there are genuine problems at N. 3^rd and Calder, the bar next door—the Taproom (itself under threat of closure)—is mostly to blame, Wilson said, as are the city and Capital Area Transit for locating a bus stop at the corner.

In the end, Judge Dowling allowed the bar to remain open until the appeals hearing, which he scheduled for Oct. 9.

His decision didn’t surprise me. From his questioning, Dowling telegraphed that he was mostly concerned about the financial harm that Paliometros would suffer if his bar were to close immediately. In his decision, Dowling wrote:

“Appellant has made a strong showing that without the requested relief, he will suffer irreparable injury, that the issuance of a stay will not substantially harm other interested parties in the proceedings and that the issue of a stay will not adversely affect the public interest in any tangible way.” (italics added)

At the hearing, it was clear to me that Dowling had little concern (or perhaps knowledge) of the daily chaos at 3^rd and Calder. The loitering, the panhandling, the fights in the streets, the screaming, the swearing, the litter, the harassment of pedestrians, the drunks stumbling into traffic, the guys sleeping it off on the sidewalk, the smell of urine at the boarded up buildings up the block—all of which I’ve seen and experienced. This dysfunction will now continue at least until the October hearing.

I understand that Dowling is constrained by the testimony in his courtroom, but the problems at that corner go far beyond a handful of alleged criminal incidents. The two bars—which acknowledge the block’s problems, but point fingers at each other through their shared wall—are dramatically affecting the quality of life of the people who live and work there—or who just exercise their right to walk down the street.

Which returns me to my original question: What responsibility does a private business have to its community?

I would argue that a business has a substantial responsibility to its community. Most businesses are significant actors in the places they’re located. They then, at a minimum, have a responsibility to do no harm to that area; at best, they should actively try to improve their neighborhoods, making them better places to be and do business.

Bars, in fact, should have among the highest standards of any type of business. They’ve been granted a remarkable privilege by the state to make money selling an intoxicating substance, one that alters minds and behaviors. That’s a special right that should be approached with deep concern for the bar’s patrons and the surrounding community.

In Harrisburg, most bars (and restaurants that serve alcohol) seem to take this responsibility fairly seriously. Some owners are certainly better than others, and the 2 a.m. scene on 2^nd Street can get rowdy. But trouble is not an all day, every day occurrence. Outside of most bars, people don’t cross the street to avoid walking by or, when they do, fear for themselves or their families, thinking that something bad might happen.

They often do when passing the Third Street Café and the Taproom. While the owners battle the city and sling mud at each other, the people in the neighborhood are being profoundly affected. To those who live, work and walk there, the bars are practically indistinguishable, with a constant flow between them, all day, starting at 7 a.m., when they open. Is one worse than the other? Maybe, but, right now, the two are feeding off each other.

I don’t wish ill to either Paliometros or to Dave Larche, who owns the Taproom (Larche also owns the Brownstone Café on Forster Street, notably a bar with seemingly few problems). However, they have to recognize that there’s an entire community around them that is suffering.

Is that awesome power—the power to diminish a community’s welfare and seal its fate—something that should be granted to two guys who want to sling booze?

Last year, I went with a developer to look at the dilapidated, boarded-up building next to the Taproom owned by the Volunteers of America, a building with a covered entry that is sometimes used as both a bathroom and a crash pad by bar patrons. Parking across the street, he was immediately beset by people shrieking, fighting and swearing at each other on a Tuesday afternoon.

Without even going inside, the developer passed on a building rehab, saying there was no way he’d touch the VOA building with the chaos on the block. How would he rent any apartments? Who would want to live there?

In his order, Judge Dowling showed a concern for one man’s paycheck, while dismissing the threat to the “public interest.” In fact, contrary to Dowling’s belief, the public interest is being adversely affected, profoundly so, and has been for years.

At the Oct. 9 hearing, Dowling may hear again of the city’s allegations against the bar, perhaps in more detail, as well as explanations from the bar’s attorneys. However, if he’s going to invoke the public interest, he should find out what that public interest is so that he can determine, in an informed manner, if it is being “adversely affected . . . in any tangible way.” A good start would be to take a walk up 3^rd Street, check out the action on the corner and then talk to some people who live and work in the immediate neighborhood.

Harrisburg Bar Loses Appeal, Remains Open for Now

September 9, 2015 | by Lawrance Binda

The Third Street Cafe in Harrisburg has lost its appeal as the city attempts to revoke its business license.

A Midtown Harrisburg bar targeted for closure by the city has lost its appeal, but remains open pending a decision by a Dauphin County judge.

Late last month, the License and Tax Appeal Review Board rejected the effort by the Third Street Café (formerly Club 1400) to retain its business license and continue operating from its building at the corner of N. 3^rd and Calder streets.

The three-person appeals board unanimously sided with the city, which alleges that the bar attracts criminal behavior, especially drug activity.

In that hearing, several Harrisburg police officers testified that numerous crimes, including drug activity and violent incidents, have occurred inside and just outside of the snug bar, which seats 35 to 40 people. Paliometros disputed the allegations, saying he cannot control the behavior of his patrons, and has told TheBurg that he runs a clean, professional bar.

After losing his appeal, Paliometros immediately appealed that decision to the Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas and was granted an emergency injunction to remain open. A hearing on that injunction is slated for Friday.

“We feel confident that we will prevail,” said Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse, who announced the appeal board’s decision at yesterday’s State of the City address at the Harrisburg Hilton.

In March, the city notified two other bars, the Royal Pub and the Taproom, that it also intended to revoke their business licenses. The Royal Pub, located at N. 6^th and Schuykill streets, soon shut down. The Taproom, located next door to the Third Street Café on the 1400-block of N. 3^rd Street, continues to operate.

Papenfuse said that the Taproom’s owner, Dave Larche, asked for more time so that he could try to sell his building and business. The city agreed to that arrangement, but, since then, has seen no indication that Larche intends to sell, said Papenfuse.

Papenfuse said that, if the Third Street Café is shut down, the city again will turn its attention to the Taproom and may re-initiate an effort to revoke its business license.

Like Paliometros, Larche insists he runs a clean bar and that he can’t be held responsible for the actions of a few of his patrons who may have committed crimes in and around his bar. He also has said he believes the city has targeted the bars for closure because the area is rapidly gentrifying.

April News Digest

April 30, 2015 | by Lawrance Binda

Cameron Street Land Transferred

Harrisburg last month ridded itself of several blighted, city-owned lots, transferring ownership to the Harrisburg Redevelopment Authority.

By a 6-1 tally, City Council agreed to transfer 28-36 and 38-40 N. Cameron Street to the authority, which is expected to try to raise funds to raze the run-down buildings on the lots and perform site remediation.

The structures were built in the 1920s as automobile-related businesses and later were part of the expansive Keystone Building Products complex, which occupied most of the unit block of N. Cameron Street.

The city took possession of the properties in 1990 and has owned them since. Over the years, several re-development plans were proposed but fell through, leaving the buildings increasingly dilapidated. Two years ago, the city put 38-40 N. Cameron on the market for $150,000, but no buyers stepped forward.

Mayor Eric Papenfuse has said that the properties have “negative value,” as the city estimates that it will cost at least $600,000 just to return the land to a buildable empty lot.

Appalachian Brewing Co. abuts 38-40 N. Cameron and has expressed interest in the property. However, CEO Jack Sproch has said that the brewery will not buy the land if it also needs to absorb the expense of demolishing the buildings and performing ground remediation.

City Seeks to Revoke Business Licenses

Harrisburg has notified three bars—the Taproom and the Third Street Café, located next door to one another in Midtown, and the Royal Pub in Uptown—that it intends to revoke their mercantile licenses.

“We’re revoking their business licenses on grounds that they violated their agreement to operate in an acceptable manner,” said Mayor Eric Papenfuse. “We consider a business license a privilege, not a right.”

Papenfuse said city police have documented repeated incidents of criminal activity in and around the bars, such as drug activity, though he would not state the exact claims against the bars.

Dave Larche, who has operated the Taproom for 23 years, said he would appeal the decision to the city’s Mercantile Licensing and Tax Appeals Board. Third Street Café’s owner Tony Paliometros said he also might appeal.

Recycling Program Changed

Major changes are coming to Harrisburg’s recycling program, the city announced last month.

The city no longer will accept glass in regular recycling, but will accept all paper products, which previously were not included. In addition, both residents and businesses will receive new trash and recycling containers.

Trash and recycling containers will be distributed to residents in June, while businesses will receive new containers in May.

Historic Homes May Be Saved

A pair of historic downtown homes may avoid the wrecking ball, as the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, which proposed tearing them down in a bid for more office space, has lowered the asking price.

Following opposition to the demolition proposal, PHFA agreed to offer the attached clapboard homes on the 100-block of Locust Street for $150,000, a bit below the $175,000 figure Brian Hudson, PHFA’s executive director, had cited at a previous planning commission hearing.

PHFA, which says it has outgrown the eight-story office building it has occupied at Front and Locust streets since 2004, sought to demolish the homes to clear the way for a new, 12-story, 160-foot office tower adjoining its existing structure.

Playground Grant Sought

Harrisburg last month applied for a state grant to improve five playgrounds, after City Council authorized the application.

The city is seeking $175,000 from the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to begin the first phase of a project to rehabilitate the Norwood and Holly, 4^th and Dauphin, Penn and Sayford, Cloverly Heights and Royal Terrace playgrounds.

This grant would match a $175,000 grant already received from the state Department of Community and Economic Development, for a total of $350,000 for the first phase.

Most of the work would help shore up the playgrounds’ infrastructure in areas like drainage, green space, accessibility and signage. If the grant is received, the city expects most of the work to take place this fall.

The project’s second phase would cost another $350,000, which the administration also hopes to fund with grants.

Water, Trash Bills Separated

This month, Harrisburg residents will begin to receive separate bills for their water/sewer and trash.

The city last month announced that, beginning with this billing cycle, residents no longer will receive a combined utility bill. Instead, the city will mail a bill for sanitation services, while Capital Region Water will send a separate bill for water and sewer.

For decades, residents have received just a single bill. However, in late 2013, Capital Region Water was set up as a separate entity as part of the city’s financial recovery plan, necessitating separating billing and collections.

In addition to checks through the mail, Capital Region Water announced a number of ways for customers to pay:

Online through a secure customer portal at www.capitalregionwater.com
By calling the utility’s customer service number (888-510-0606)
In person, during regular office hours

“While some of our customers may consider the separation of bills to be an inconvenience, we see it as an opportunity,” said Capital Region Water CEO Shannon Williams. “We listened to our customers at town hall meetings, at our Customer Service Center and at community events. The number one request we heard: make paying bills easier. And that’s what we did.”

Residents can pay the city for sanitation services either in person or by mail.

Trail Improvement Planned

The Capital Area Greenbelt Association last month received city permission to raise money to improve a section of the Capital Area Greenbelt trail that runs through Harrisburg.

City Council voted unanimously to designate about six-tenths of a mile of city-owned property along South Cameron Street as public open space for recreation and part of the city’s public parklands.

The vote also authorized Harrisburg to enter into a cooperative agreement with Dauphin County and the Greenbelt Association to seek funding for construction of a permanent, all-weather trail surface on the property. The association also would be responsible for maintenance.

Oil Train Resolution Passes

Harrisburg City Council last month gave its unanimous consent to a resolution urging the federal government to reduce the risk to the city of oil trains.

The resolution urges Congress and the U.S. Department of Transportation to review and update specifications and regulations for tank car design to reduce the risk of derailments. It also urges greater communication between local emergency management officials and the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency.

About 25 trains pass through Harrisburg each week carrying crude oil from the Bakken fields in the upper Great Plains and Canada, said Councilman Brad Koplinski.

Changing Hands

Benton St., 607: L. Luis to D. Thomas, $66,000
Caledonia St., 1909: F. Arzuaga Sr. to L. & S. Torres, $112,900
Derry St., 1161 & 1163: Myers Home LLC to Able Property Management, $52,500
Edward St., 505: Freddie Mac to M. Brower, $94,900
Fillmore St., 610: Nationstar Mortgage LLC to Lucky Lan Properties LLC, $30,000
Fulton St., 1719: PA Deals LLC to M. Biscoe, $99,400
Green St., 1007: Secretary of Housing & Urban Development to N. Sinclair, $37,235
Green St., 1912: T. Wadlinger to B. Ostella & A. Fortino, $190,000
Green St., 2131: K. & K. Martin to E. Haggans, $54,000
Green St., 2931: D. & N. Korn to R. Christ & D. Cole, $220,000
Green St., 2960: A. & R. Emerick to D. & C. Graeff, $321,500
Industrial Rd., 3500 & 3500A: Keystone Central Storage LP et al to Northeast Northwest LLC et al, $35,357,681
Logan St., 1733: Secretary of Housing & Urban Development et al to PA Deals LLC, $50,250
Kensington St., 2408: Fern Lane LLC to PA Deals LLC, $32,000
Kensington St., 2439: Fannie Mae to C. & A. Dellmuth, $30,000
Logan St., 2446: PA Deals LLC to M. & J. Sather, $104,300
Mulberry St., 1808: T. Ruth to J. Ramos & M. Gonzalez, $50,000
North St., 228: N. Landis to N. Andrejack, $112,500
N. 4^th St., 2627: D. Travers to M. Hochstetler, $35,000
N. 7^th St., 931: Sera Tec Properties LLP to 7^th Street HLW LLC, $340,000
N. 16^th St., 912: B. & V. Fields to C. Van Den Hazenkamp, $79,900
Penn St., 2334: A. Yates to N. Symons, $79,000
Pennwood Rd., 3224: C. Mondorff to L. Rowland, $60,000
S. 16^th St., 902: N. Holmes to B. Owens, $72,000
S 16^th St., 935: K. Prophet & K. Ortiz to K. Fiavi, $55,000
S. 17^th St., 629: F. Bramande et al to RPM Holdings LLC, $262,500
S. 18^th St., 1122: A. & S. Tolos to R. Muhamad: $50,000
S. 24^th St., 618: P. Sowers-Alton to R. Spence, $100,000
Susquehanna St., 1426: S. Nickliss to R. Walton Jr., $93,500
Susquehanna St., 1730: Bank of New York Mellon to V. Graham & Signature Rehab Services LLC, $51,000
Verbeke St., 112: J. Snare to J. Staloski, $105,500
Verbeke St., 233: S. Livingston & C. Morris to D. Varno & C. Johnson, $113,000

Harrisburg property sales for March 2015, greater than $30,000. Source: Dauphin County. Data is assumed to be accurate.

Harrisburg Seeks to Revoke Business Licenses for 3 Bars

April 15, 2015 | by Lawrance Binda

Harrisburg is trying to shut down the Third Street Cafe, foreground, and the Taproom next door for alleged violations of their mercantile licenses.

When you enter the Taproom in Midtown Harrisburg, you immediately notice several things: the ingrained smell of stale cigarette smoke, the sound of some old jukebox rock, a few well-oiled customers at the bar.

It’s about 11 a.m. on a Monday, and one guy who says he works construction (and plans to return to work) is deep into a pitcher of beer. A couple of older men in disheveled suits, laughing and slurring their words, say they’ve been regulars for years.

It’s a mixed crowd: young, old, black, white, workingman, professional, and the patrons all seem to know each other.

This is bar culture at its most basic, the kind of place that once lined block after block of old Harrisburg—the watering hole for the neighborhood, a gritty, downscale “Cheers.”

The Taproom is also, according to the city, a magnet for crime, and because of this determination, is under threat of losing its business license at the end of the month.

Papenfuse said city police have documented repeated incidents of criminal activity in and around the bars, such as drug activity, though he would not state the exact claims against the bars.

Dave Larche, 68, has operated the Taproom for 23 years and, recently, has seen many changes come to the commercial core of Midtown. He believes that’s the real issue, that powerful people no longer want his bar on the block.

“I think there’s an agenda because they want to do something on this side of the street,” he said, adding that, years ago, there were five bars like his along the 1400-block of N. 3^rd Street.

Dave Larche, owner of the Taproom, inside his bar.

Indeed, Midtown is undergoing a transformation. In January, the new Susquehanna Art Museum opened across the street, and, two doors up, starting this summer, Greenworks Development plans to create a U-GRO Learning Center pre-school from a former hardware store. Nearby, the Millworks restaurant and art studio space recently opened, as did the Zeroday Brewing Co. tasting room.

The dissonance between SAM’s gleaming new facility and the two rundown bars across the street is striking. As art patrons visit the museum, visibly intoxicated people often loiter nearby, sometimes causing commotion. Just last month, a fight broke out outside Third Street Café, with a man collapsing near the front door, and, a few weeks later, a shooting occurred in the back alley.

Larche largely blames his next-door neighbor, Third Street Café, for the problems on the block, which he says include public urination, people sleeping in nearby doorways and fights.

Third Street Café’s owner, Tony Paliometros, denies responsibility, saying that he runs a clean, professional bar and that he can’t control what happens outside his place.

“If someone wants to do something, they can do it outside a school or the courthouse,” he said. “Does that mean you close the school or courthouse?”

Paliometros agrees with Larche that his bar is a victim of people who wish to change the neighborhood.

“They built the new museum, and I guess they want to clear the area,” he said.

Papenfuse, who owns Midtown Scholar Bookstore and several other buildings nearby, denies that he is purposely targeting the bars for closure. Drug activity, he said, has been linked to both bars in violation of the terms of their mercantile licenses.

According to the city’s “Business Privilege and Mercantile Tax Regulation” handbook, the city reserves the right to revoke licenses for “any behavior which would constitute a crime under federal, state or local laws, including, but not limited to, drug trafficking or drug possession; committed an act of gross negligence, or allowed any manner or form of public nuisance.”

Larche admits that cocaine was found inside the Taproom last year, within a dart box, but that he can’t control what each of his customers does, even inside his bar.

Paliometros said that he needs to meet with his attorney to decide if he’s going to appeal the revocation before the city’s three-person Mercantile Licensing and Tax Appeals Board, which meets in city hall at 2 p.m. on April 30. Larche said that he is appealing, but holds little hope of winning.

“It don’t look good,” he said. “My lawyer said we can appeal it, but I think it’s pretty well done.”

Both Paliometros and Larche wonder where their patrons will go if their bars close. Paliometros expects that some will migrate to bars Uptown, while Larche said that he just doesn’t know.

“This is a neighborhood bar—a real neighborhood bar,” he said. “There are people in this world who don’t want to go to Arooga’s.”

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