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Residents call for crackdown on after‑hours clubs and review of disorderly conduct ordinance
Summary
Public commenters urged the council to address late‑night clubs on Union Boulevard and asked the city to review an allegedly antiquated disorderly conduct ordinance; the public safety committee will review community policing, predatory towing and City Hall security at a future meeting.
Several residents used the public‑comment portion of the Allentown City Council meeting to press elected officials for stronger action on late‑night establishments along Union Boulevard and to update an older disorderly‑conduct ordinance.
“Sayeed,” identified in the record as a resident, said the roughly 900 to 1500 blocks of Union Boulevard had become “After Hours Central” and described multiple shootings, stabbings and bullet damage to family vehicles. “Enough is enough, city council,” Sayeed said, urging the council to “put a motion in place to shut down and not allow an after‑hour spot within the city limits.”
Philip Bridal, representing the Coalition for Appropriate Transportation and speaking later about code enforcement, called the city’s disorderly conduct ordinance “antiquated,” saying it was last amended in 1951 and risks running afoul of U.S. Supreme Court free‑speech rulings. Bridal urged council to work with the city solicitor to update the ordinance to reduce litigation risk and protect free expression.
Council response and next steps
Public Safety Committee Chairwoman Miss Saffa told the council the committee will meet Feb. 12 and will review, among other items, a community‑policing resolution and a draft ordinance on predatory towing; she also said the committee may begin to look at City Hall security and cameras. The committee schedule and the administration’s involvement were discussed as part of the meeting’s committee reports.
No formal motion to ban after‑hours establishments was offered during the meeting. The concerns raised were entered into the public record and will be available for committee consideration.
