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Downtown resident tells council repeated noise, trash and rodent problems at 219 South Washington Street venue
Summary
A downtown resident told Wilkes-Barre City Council he and other neighbors made about 19 police calls for excessive noise and described persistent trash and rodent problems tied to an event venue at 219 South Washington Street; council said the city will look into the complaint.
Michael Martin, a downtown resident, told the Wilkes-Barre City Council on Jan. 9 that neighbors near 219 South Washington Street — described in the meeting as a downtown art and event space — have made about 19 calls to police over the past months complaining of excessive noise and disorder.
Martin said the venue is permitted to be open until 11 p.m. on weekdays and 2 a.m. on weekends but that events frequently continued past those hours. He also described garbage piled in a shared alley, rodents entering his third‑floor apartment and at least one incident when an intoxicated person was found hiding in the alleyway; he said the situation once forced him and his household to leave and stay in a hotel for about a week. "We have had to make about 19 calls to the police, about excessive noise," Martin said.
Mayor George Brown told Martin the city would look into the complaint and called the owner’s reported suggestion that tenants pay to soundproof their apartments "unacceptable." City officials and council did not record a formal enforcement action or timeline during the meeting. Martin said he had documentation, including photos and records of calls, which he offered to give to the council.
