12/5/2017, 1:14 pm
For Jeff Liu, the thick Plexiglas window that separates him from patrons at his Germantown beer deli, Kenny's Seafood & Steak, is a matter of safety.
For City Councilwoman Cindy Bass, the barrier window is an insult.
The Plexiglas partition serves to protect workers from crime, but it also cuts them off from customers — a literal and metaphorical divider between their worlds. Several years ago, after Liu argued with a man selling drugs in the Wayne Avenue deli's lobby, the man returned with a rifle and shot Liu's car, shattering its windows, Liu said.
However, Philadelphia Councilwoman Cindy Bass says the windows only foster a sense that the establishment – more specifically, its clientele – is dangerous. And that too many of those stores masquerade as eateries when their biggest sales draw is alcohol, feeding vices in the city's struggling neighborhoods. “It's an indignity” to buy a meal through such a window, she said.
But Adam Xu, 54, chairman of the Asian American Licensed Beverage Association of Philadelphia, said the protective window should be a business owner's choice. His association represents 217 beer delis in the city, about 70 percent of which are owned by people who are ethnic Chinese and another 20 percent of Korean descent. “Most of our businesses,” he said, “are in not-as-safe neighborhoods.”
Deli owner Rich Kim opposes the bill, arguing that such a physical barrier saved his mother-in-law's life when she was attacked by a knife-wielding attacker. "If the glass comes down, the crime rate will rise and there will be lots of dead bodies," Kim said. Kim thinks the bill unfairly targets Korean store owners. "I do think it's a bad bill that will endanger Korean Americans," he said.
Look, we can disagree all we want about the proper role of government, but can't we all agree that if a law will actually cause people to die, then it's a bad idea? Seriously, how can anyone look at this part of the proposal and not think, "You know what? This is going to get people killed."
For City Councilwoman Cindy Bass, the barrier window is an insult.
The Plexiglas partition serves to protect workers from crime, but it also cuts them off from customers — a literal and metaphorical divider between their worlds. Several years ago, after Liu argued with a man selling drugs in the Wayne Avenue deli's lobby, the man returned with a rifle and shot Liu's car, shattering its windows, Liu said.
However, Philadelphia Councilwoman Cindy Bass says the windows only foster a sense that the establishment – more specifically, its clientele – is dangerous. And that too many of those stores masquerade as eateries when their biggest sales draw is alcohol, feeding vices in the city's struggling neighborhoods. “It's an indignity” to buy a meal through such a window, she said.
Philadelphia Councilwoman Cindy Bass
But Adam Xu, 54, chairman of the Asian American Licensed Beverage Association of Philadelphia, said the protective window should be a business owner's choice. His association represents 217 beer delis in the city, about 70 percent of which are owned by people who are ethnic Chinese and another 20 percent of Korean descent. “Most of our businesses,” he said, “are in not-as-safe neighborhoods.”
Deli owner Rich Kim opposes the bill, arguing that such a physical barrier saved his mother-in-law's life when she was attacked by a knife-wielding attacker. "If the glass comes down, the crime rate will rise and there will be lots of dead bodies," Kim said. Kim thinks the bill unfairly targets Korean store owners. "I do think it's a bad bill that will endanger Korean Americans," he said.
Kim, owner of Broad Deli
Look, we can disagree all we want about the proper role of government, but can't we all agree that if a law will actually cause people to die, then it's a bad idea? Seriously, how can anyone look at this part of the proposal and not think, "You know what? This is going to get people killed."