January 31, 2020 – The city of Albuquerque reached an agreement with two “nuisance” convenience stores. They’ll stop selling mini– and pint-sized bottles of alcohol, train their staff more thoroughly about not selling to persons who are intoxicated, and provide better clean-up and security.  Good for the neighborhood, or just pushing problem down the road? Gene Grant and The Line opinion panel debate whether this move is a victory for public safety or a dangerous step onto the slippery slope of regulation.    

Line Panelists: 

Merritt Allen, Vox Optima
Michael Barrio, executive director, Prosperity Works
Dan Foley, former state representative
Sophie Martin, attorney

For Further Reading/Watching:  

City officials announce changes at pair of 7-Eleven nuisance properties  — KRQE

Two stores agree to halt sale of ‘mini’ and pint alcohol bottles   — Albuquerque Journal 

Transcript:

>>GENE GRANT: WE SPOKE ABOUT THIS HERE ON THE LINE WHEN IT FIRST CAME UP. TWO 7-11 STORES IN SOUTHEAST ALBUQUERQUE WERE DECLARED NUISANCE PROPERTIES AFTER MANY, MANY COMPLAINTS AND ASKED TO CLEAN UP THEIR ACT. NOW AN AGREEMENT HAS BEEN REACHED BETWEEN THOSE STORES AND THE CITY. THE STORES WILL STOP SELLING MINI AND PINT SIZE BOTTLES OF ALCOHOL. THEY WILL POLICE THEIR AREAS DAILY AND GIVE ADDITIONAL TRAINING TO EMPLOYEES SO THEY CAN AVOID SELLING ALCOHOL TO THOSE ALREADY INTOXICATED. LET ME INTRODUCE THE LINE OPINION PANEL. ALL WHO HAVE AGREED TO READ UP ON THE ISSUES AND BE PREPARED TO TACKLE THIS STORY AND OTHERS. FORMER NEW MEXICO HOUSE MINORITY WHIP AND LINE REGULAR, DANIEL FOLEY IS HERE. MICHAEL BARRIO, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF PROSPERITY WORKS JOINS US AS WELL. ATTORNEY AND ANOTHER LINE REGULAR, SOPHIE MARTIN IS HERE WITH HER TAKE ON TODAY’S TOPICS. LAST, BUT NOT LEAST, MERRITT ALLEN IS HERE. SHE IS THE OWNER OF VOX OPTIMA PUBLIC RELATIONS. WELCOME TO YOU ALL. HOW DO YOU SEE THIS? VICTORY FOR PUBLIC SAFETY? DANGEROUS STEP INTO A SLIPPERY SLOPE OF PUBLIC REGULATION?  

>>DAN FOLEY: FIRST OF ALL, MAKES NO SENSE. I DON’T KNOW WHO PLANNED ON LETTING THE MAYOR STAND AT THE PODIUM AND HOLD UP TO LITTLE MINIS AND GET THAT PICTURE IN THE ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL. THIS IS CRAZY. I DON’T, YOU KNOW, AT THE TIME THIS WAS GOING ON, RIGHT, WRONG OR INDIFFERENT, YOU HAVE A RECORD MURDER RATE UNDER HIS WATCH IN THE CITY. I AM NOT SAYING IT IS HIS FAULT. IT CAME OUT DURING HIS WATCH. AND HIS ANSWER TO THAT IS WE ARE GOING TO GET TWO 7-11 STORES TO STOP SELLING PINTS AND MINIS. YOU KNOW. I MEAN, YOU WOULD THINK IF YOU’RE A DEMOCRAT AND YOU WANTED TO ADDRESS THIS, WHY AREN’T YOU REACHING OUT TO SOMEONE LIKE THE ATTORNEY GENERAL, YOU KNOW. THE ATTORNEY GENERAL IS IN YOUR PARTY, THE ATTORNEY GENERAL HAS BEEN GOING AFTER PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES.   

>>GRANT: WE HAVE A CITY COUNCILOR IN THIS DISTRICT, DAVIS. WE HAVE A CITY COUNCILOR SO I DON’T THINK YOU HAVE TO TAKE IT TO THE AG.   

>>FOLEY: LET’S TALK STATISTICS. HOW ABOUT LOOKING AT — YOU’RE LOOKING AT A CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT THAT IS DOING THIS. BASICALLY WHAT WE ARE DOING IS MOVING THE PROBLEM TO THE NEXT CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT. SO, WHY NOT TALK TO SOMEONE LIKE THE ATTORNEY GENERAL? THIS IS A STATE-WIDE EFFORT. WHETHER HE HAS DONE A GOOD JOB OR NOT DONE A GOOD JOB, IT’S OPEN FOR CONVERSATION. I GET IT BUT THE ANSWER TO TWO — THIS IS WHAT PEOPLE HAVE TO REMEMBER, WE ARE TALKING ABOUT IMPACTING TWO 7-11 STORES IN THE CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE. AND SUDDENLY THIS IS GOING TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEM? WE HAVE A BUSING SYSTEM PEOPLE CAN GET UP AND DOWN CENTRAL ON. IT SEEMS LIKE AT A TIME, YOU KNOW, THAT ROME IS BURNING, NERO IS STANDING ON THE ROOF WITH A FIRE HOSE SAYING I AM GOING TO PUT THE FIRE OUT. I THINK IT IS A HUGE ISSUE. I ALSO THINK IT WAS A BAD MOVE FOR THE MAYOR TO HAVE THAT PHOTO OP WITH MINIS AND I THINK THIS WAS NOT HANDLED CORRECTLY. IN MY OPINION, THE PUBLIC RELATIONS, TO HAVE THE MAYOR OUT SAYING, WE HAVE THE HIGHEST MURDER RATE EVER IN ALBUQUERQUE, HERE ARE TWO MINIS.   

>>GRANT: GOT YOU. MY FAULT. MY UNDERSTANDING YOU LIVE FAIRLY CLOSE BY ONE OF THEM.   

>>FOLEY: PART OF THE PROBLEM.   

>>SOPHIE MARTIN: ONE IS THE CLOSEST COMMUNITY STORE TO MY HOUSE SO I AM A MEMBER OF THAT NEIGHBORHOOD. AND, YOU KNOW, THAT 7-11 HAS BEEN A PROBLEM FOR MANY YEARS. THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY HAVE PUSHED FOR CHANGES THERE FOR MANY YEARS. FOR MYSELF, I DON’T THINK THIS IS ENOUGH. I WENT IN THE OTHER NIGHT AND I COULD SEE THEY HAD REMOVED MINIS AND PINTS, BUT YOU CAN BUY QUITE A LARGE BOTTLE OF ALCOHOL IN THERE FOR NOT VERY MUCH MONEY. YOU CAN SEE IMPROVEMENTS ARE MADE IN TERMS OF THE CHANGES AGREED TO BUT THERE IS STILL AN ISSUE WITH PANHANDLING OUTSIDE. IT STILL DOES NOT SEEM SAFE AND IT IS QUITE WELL LIT. THANK GOODNESS. SO THIS IS SORT OF AN INCREMENTAL STEP THAT MAYBE DOESN’T GET THE NEIGHBORHOOD ALL THE WAY TO WHERE IT NEEDS TO GO. TO DAN’S POINT ABOUT THE MURDER RATE, THERE HAVE BEEN SHOOTINGS IN AND AROUND THAT 7-11. AND I SAY IN. I AM NOT SURE IT IS ACTUALLY TRUE BUT AROUND THE 7-11, THAT PROPERTY. IT HAS BEEN A MAGNET FOR PROBLEM BEHAVIORS FOR QUITE SOME TIME. AND SO, YOU KNOW, TO THE EXTENT THE COMMUNITY IS SAYING YOU HAVE TO DO SOMETHING, WELL, SOMETHING WAS DONE. BUT, IT ENCOURAGES ME A LITTLE BIT TO HEAR THE MAYOR’S OFFICE SAYING WE RECOGNIZE THERE MAY NEED TO BE MORE THAT HAPPENS HERE. THIS IS A TRIAL RUN.   

>>GRANT: I APPRECIATED THAT THE MAYOR, MICHAEL, HAD MENTIONED THAT THIS IS A BIT OF AN EXPERIMENT, A MOVING TARGET. I APPRECIATE HE SAID THAT OUT LOUD. IT IS HARD TO DENY 1,127 COMPLAINTS TO THE CITY’S 311 LINE FROM THESE TWO PLACES ALONE. THAT KIND OF BEGS AN ANSWER, SOMETHING HAD TO HAPPEN. STATUS QUO WAS NOT GOING TO SUFFICE HERE.   

>>MICHAEL BARRIO: I THINK HE USED THE PROPER TERMINOLOGY, I THINK IT IS AN EXPERIMENT. THE WAY THAT I SEE IT IS, SOMETHING DOES HAVE TO BE DONE BUT NOT SELLING PINT SIZE AND MINI BOTTLES, I DON’T THINK THAT IS A SOLUTION. BECAUSE ARE WE THEN SAYING THAT WE KNOW FOR A FACT THAT ALCOHOL IS A DIRECT CORRELATION TO ALL THE MANY PROBLEMS THAT ARE OCCURRING IN THESE AREAS? I DON’T THINK THAT WE COULD REALLY MAKE THAT CASE WITHOUT LOOKING AT THE DATA. YOU KNOW, THERE ARE A LOT OF SOCIAL DETERMINATES THAT DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT A COMMUNITY IS GOING TO BASICALLY FACE THESE KIND OF ISSUES, SO I DON’T KNOW THAT SAYING WE ARE NOT GOING TO SELL THESE SIZE LIQUOR BOTTLES TO THESE COMMUNITIES, I DON’T KNOW THAT IS THE ANSWER AND IT SEEMS LIKE IT IS AN INFRINGEMENT –   

>>GRANT: IS THAT NOT JUST PLAIN GOOD GOVERNANCE TO HONE IN ON A PROBLEM AT A GRASS ROOTS LEVEL?  

 >>FOLEY: THAT IS THE PROBLEM.   

>>GRANT: LET ME HERE — BEFORE YOU GET A POINT IN DAN, YOU KNOW, HONESTLY THE POLICE RESPONDED 733 TIMES. RIGHT? THAT MEANS THEY ARE NOT DOING SOMETHING ELSE, TO DAN’S POINT ABOUT BIGGER ISSUES.   

>>MERRITT ALLEN: THIS IS A HUGE OVERREACH. IF THIS IS AN EXPERIMENT, IT IS A DANGEROUS ONE BECAUSE IF YOU CAN DECLARE A LICENSED, PROPERLY ZONED, PROPERLY LICENSED, PROPERLY ZONED BUSINESS A NUISANCE BECAUSE YOU CAN’T KEEP CRIME DOWN AROUND IT, WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DECLARE A NUISANCE PROPERTY? A POLITICAL RIVAL? THEN WE GET INTO EMINENT DOMAIN AND ALL SORTS OF THINGS.   

>>GRANT: DO BARS FALL INTO THAT CRITERIA AS WELL?  

 >>ALLEN: POSSIBLY. IT COULD BE ANY TYPE OF AREA WHERE THERE IS ACTIVITY, IT COULD BE AN ADULT CLUB, THAT SORT OF THING. IF THEY ARE ZONED, THEY HAVE A LICENSE, THEY SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO OPERATE AND I AM SO UPSET JUST AT THE PRECEDENT. WHETHER IT DOES ANY GOOD, I DON’T THINK IT IS GOING TO DO ANY GOOD BUT IT SHOWS ME THAT THE GOVERNMENT, THIS, ADMINISTRATION, IS WILLING TO TAKE EXTREME GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION STEPS WHERE THEY AREN’T WARRANTED AND THAT SHOULD BE ALARMING TO ALL OF US AS CITIZENS.   

>>GRANT: I WANT TO TAKE OFF ON THAT POINT. THE FIX, IS IT EQUIVALENT TO THE PROBLEM? SOPHIE, TO YOU ON THIS, FIRE AND RESCUE HAS RESPONDED 189 TIMES SO MOSTLY FOR FOLKS WHO WERE, QUOTE, DOWN AND OUT. WOULD THEY BE DOWN AND OUT WHETHER THIS 7-11 EXISTED, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN?   

>>MARTIN: THAT IS ACTUALLY WHERE I WANTED TO GO. WHEN WE LOOK AT THE ISSUES SURROUNDING SUBSTANCE ABUSE, ALCOHOL ADDICTION, DRUG ADDICTION, THEY DON’T EXIST IN A VACUUM. SO TO JUST SAY, WELL, TO DAN’S POINT, WE ARE GOING TO TAKE THE ALCOHOL OUT OF THIS ONE AREA, DOESN’T, THEN, ADDRESS THE HOST OF OTHER ISSUES LIKE POVERTY.   

>>FOLEY: THE MENTAL HEALTH DISPARITY WE HAVE IN NEW MEXICO AND ESPECIALLY IN ALBUQUERQUE. WHERE I THINK THIS IS FAILED AS AN EXPERIMENT, I AGREE 100% WITH MERRITT ON THE WHOLE OVERREACH STUFF, BUT I THINK THAT THESE FOLKS ARE NOT GETTING OFF WORK AND GOING TO 7-11 AND BUYING A PINT AND HAPPEN TO BE DRINKING TOO MUCH. THEY ARE SELF MEDICATING. IF YOU TAKE THE ALCOHOL AWAY FROM SELF MEDICATING THERE AND DON’T REPLACE THAT WITH AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THEM TO GET THE HELP THEY NEED, YOU’RE JUST GOING TO CREATE THE PROBLEM THAT EITHER MOVES OR IT IS GOING TO GROW AS A PROBLEM THERE. I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE SEEN THE MAYOR SAY, WE ARE NOT DOING THIS, AND, BY THE WAY, WE ARE DOING THIS TO ADDRESS THE MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEM THAT CLEARLY IS ONE OF THE ISSUES AT FOOT HERE AND WE ARE NOT — WE ARE ONCE AGAIN IGNORING THE NEED FOR MENTAL HEALTH IN ALBUQUERQUE BY JUST SAYING, HEY, WE ARE GOING TO GET A QUICK POLITICAL SNAPSHOT, NO MORE MINIS, PINTS AND THESE PEOPLE WILL GO SOMEWHERE ELSE.   

>>MARTIN: I DON’T AGREE THAT THIS ADMINISTRATION IS NOT DOING ANYTHING ON MENTAL HEALTH. I THINK THAT YOU CAN’T ISOLATE ONE THING, ONE THING WITHIN A SYSTEM, AND SO THIS IS PART OF WHAT I SEE THE ADMINISTRATION TRYING TO DO BUT I THINK IT IS A THING THAT MAKES THE NEIGHBORHOOD POTENTIALLY FEEL GOOD. IT MAY, AS DAN SAID, PUSH DRINKERS TO OTHER AREAS AND PUSH THEM TO DRINKING MORE. ANECDOTALLY, I KNOW OF SOME PEOPLE WHO, THEY MANAGE THEIR DRINKING BECAUSE IT IS A SMALL BOTTLE AND THEY TIME IT OUT WITH A SMALL BOTTLE AND A BIGGER BOTTLE MIGHT BE MORE DANGEROUS.   

>>GRANT: EXACTLY THE SAME OR APPRECIABLY THE SAME, HOW DOES THE EXPERIMENT LOOK AT THAT POINT?   

>>BARRIO: I THINK IT IS POSSIBLE THAT WE WILL SEE SOME THINGS TURN AROUND BUT I DON’T THINK IT IS BECAUSE YOU’RE NOT ABLE TO PURCHASE THOSE SIZES OF ALCOHOL. ALL THE OTHER SOLUTIONS THAT WERE INCLUDED IN THIS, THOSE FRANKLY SOUND MUCH MORE SUBSTANTIVE THAN — IT FEELS LIKE THE ALCOHOL, THAT WAS TACKED ON BECAUSE IT SOUNDS GOOD.   

>>MARTIN: IT IS MOST INTERESTING.   

>>BARRIO: THE MAYOR SHOWS UP WITH LITTLE BOTTLES AS DAN POINTS OUT. SO, I THINK THAT THERE COULD BE SOME POSITIVE OUTCOMES FROM IT. I MEAN, WHAT DID IT SAY, IT’S CLEAR 90% OF EACH WINDOW POSTERS, INSTALL CAMERAS, SIGNS, NO TRESPASSING SIGNS, TRAINING FOR EMPLOYEES.   

>>GRANT: THAT SOUNDS LIKE THE REGULAR COURSE OF BUSINESS.   

>>MARTIN: FRANCHISE OWNERS OF THE CONVENIENCE STORES IN ALBUQUERQUE ARE REBRANDING. THEY ARE TURNING IN DK. IT IS A DIFFERENT MOD LOOKING, NOT QUITE SO RUN DOWN –   

>>GRANT: REST OF THE COUNTRY HAS FLIPPED ON THAT. I HAVE GOT TO RUN ON THIS ONE. WE’RE OUT OF TIME. AFTER THE BREAK, THE SUPER BOWL IS THIS WEEKEND. WE CHECK IN WITH ISLETA PUEBLO ABOUT THEIR DECISION TO ADD A SPORTS BETTING FACILITY TO ITS CASINO.