During that time period, one house across the street from the Elks was struck with a bullet, four people were transported to Atrium Medical Center for injuries suffered during assaults in the parking lot and police have found loaded guns, a rifle and heroin in the parking lot.
David Dixon, 68, house chairman of the social club, acknowledged the violence needs to stop, but he stressed the incidents are happening in the parking lot, sometimes after the Elks closes at 1 a.m. He recently put up signs on the security fence warning visitors against bringing weapons onto the property or trespassing after seeking advice from police officers. He’s also working to upgrade the security cameras on the perimeter of the business, he said.
Maj. Mark Hoffman, of the Middletown Division of Police, said the department has increased patrols in the area and periodically drives through the parking lot. Hoffman said since Dixon is cooperating with police he doesn’t see a need to close the Elks unless the incidents continue.
Dixon said when he sees illegal activity in the parking lot, he immediately calls police.
“We can’t control everything,” he said. “We can only do our best.”
Dixon said the Elks parking lot — like the Middletown Shopping Center years ago — is a popular place for young residents to hang out. He said most of those in the lot are not Elks members, so they don’t have privileges to enter the building.
Dixon lives a few blocks from the Elks and said the Eighth Avenue neighborhood, like many in the city, has deteriorated over the years. The older residents have been replaced by younger, more transient ones, he said. They don’t take care of their property, he said.
“It’s rough around here,” he said. “Nothing is the same.”
On Tuesday afternoon, Eighth Avenue was quiet hours before the Elks opened at 5 p.m. A Middletown school bus picked up a few students, but a barber shop located across the street from the Elks was closed.
Brian Revere, 37, lives in the neighborhood, and said there is no place for the youth to go in the city, so they gather outside the Elks.
“People like to congregate, feel a sense of community and oneness,” he said. “This is our country club. This is all we got.”
Even if the Elks were to close, he said, the problems that plague the city — lack of jobs and low income — will remain.
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