VIRGINIA BEACH
Several days a week, Catie Parker brings her 10-year-old son to lessons at a martial arts studio in the Green Run Square Shopping Center.
The trip to King Tiger Martial Arts often involves stepping over broken beer bottles, avoiding people swearing on the sidewalk, and explaining to her children the fallen-officer memorial at the edge of the parking lot, she said.
A rowdy nighttime crowd and several violent incidents have made the shopping center, in the 3300 block of Holland Road, an unfriendly place for families, Parker said. But she hasn't wanted to pull her son from the classes because after nearly three years, he's invested in the studio.
She's not alone in her concerns about Green Run Square.
In the last 25 months, two slayings and two attempted murders or aggravated assaults took place at that shopping center.
The first slaying occurred when Detective Michael Phillips, 37, was shot during an undercover drug deal in the parking lot Aug. 7. An informal memorial there still features his photos.
The other incidents all happened the morning of March 8, after a fight broke out at the strip mall's MP Island Cafe, which doubled as a nightclub at the time. Nicholas D. Hopwood, 25, was fatally stabbed inside and two people were shot in the parking lot.
The shopping center - which also has a clothing store, payday lender, Asian food market, pet store and nail salon - sits on the outskirts of Green Run. The community comprises 16,000 residents and 6 square miles bordered by Holland Road, Lynnhaven Parkway and Rosemont Road.
Within a two-year span ending April 30, the 3300 block of Holland Road accounted for 14 percent of the Green Run area's shoplifting cases, 18 percent of robberies and nearly 20 percent of simple assaults. Thirteen percent of the neighborhood's drug violations also happened there, according to police statistics.
The strip mall doesn't generate an above-average number of calls, police say, but the recent incidents have neighbors, and patrons like Parker, worried.
"If there's going to be a shooting in the parking lot, a bullet could come through the window and hit a child," Parker said.
To help keep his students safe, Geoffrey Cielo of King Tiger said he instituted safety policies prohibiting them from leaving the studio without a parent.
The city needs to be more active in policing Green Run Square, he said.
"They should already know that there's a problem and really should be vigilant," said Cielo, who located his business there in 2001.
"We've had people who have been smoking drugs in the parking lot, people having sex in the parking lot in cars, and it's just not an environment for kids."
The last straw for Cielo came a few months ago when an adult toy store opened next door, he said. He said he wanted to move but couldn't get out of his lease.
Complaints to the landlord, Taylor Commercial Real Estate, have gone unheeded, Cielo said.
"I'm very disappointed in our landlord," he said. "He didn't care that that's right next to kids. He didn't care if it was appropriate or inappropriate. He just wanted to rent the space."
Three calls to Taylor Commercial Real Estate were not returned Friday.
When Gary Moeller moved his computer store to Green Run Square in 2002, it was a quiet strip mall filled with "mom and pop shops," such as a tailor and a small moving company, he said.
He moved in because the rent was lower than locations nearby, he said.
"It was a quiet shopping center," said the 59-year-old, who's lived in Green Run for nearly 30 years. "I didn't feel threatened to walk in through there in the middle of the night or working late."
But things changed when MP Island Cafe opened the next year.
At first, "I was kind of glad to have an alternate place to go to for lunch," Moeller said. But "as soon as they started doing their nightclub thing, that's when the problems started."
"It was to the point where my customers were run away, run off, because there was no place to park," Moeller said. "A couple of them told me that they were scared to come to my store in the evening because of the clientele that were hanging around there."
He complained to the landlord and MP Island's daytime manager, but nothing changed, he said. Eventually, Moeller moved.
He now runs a mobile computer-repair business.
"A number of businesses in that shopping center moved or closed after MP moved in, and MP was a good part of why," Moeller wrote in an e-mail, noting that the strip mall is not located within the Green Run neighborhood. "It was a peaceful, quiet shopping center where everyone treated each other with respect. That is no longer the case."
MP Island Cafe owner Mike Palmer said he's never received complaints from the strip mall's landlord or the other businesses there. He said he takes precautions, like enforcing a dress code, to avoid attracting a rowdy crowd.
"It's an unfortunate thing what happened inside my business," Palmer said, "but I try to run a very good operation."
Palmer said he's tired of MP Island being connected with violence. "We've gone three, four months without a cop coming into my parking lot, and we're running a bar," he said.
Media coverage of the stabbing and shooting at the cafe has caused more harm than the actual incident, he said. And he said MP Island wasn't even open the night Phillips was killed.
After the fight in March, the city ordered MP Island to stop operating as a nightclub because it doesn't have the proper license. It's approved as a restaurant, but it cannot have loud music, disc jockeys and a dance floor without a nightclub license.
Shutting down the club, combined with media coverage, has severely curtailed Palmer's business, he said. He's had to lay off staff and close on Mondays and Tuesdays. He said he hopes to resume business on one of those days. In the meantime, he's trying to focus on the food and host other events, like a karaoke night on Wednesdays.
City leaders may consider allowing MP Island to reopen its nightclub on a three-month trial, said Councilman Glenn Davis, who represents Green Run. But only if Palmer hires off-duty police to provide security on busy nights.
Most of Green Run's residents oppose that idea, said Chandler Scarborough, past president of the Green Run Homes Association.
"They've already been given the opportunity, and they've shown that they can't be responsible," he said. "Residents unanimously felt like it would be a mistake to continue down that road."
"It's all about creating a win-win opportunity for both the neighborhood as well as the businesses," Davis said. "We'd like to make changes to ensure the safety of the neighborhood and the citizens in and around the shopping center."
To help achieve that goal, Davis and members of the Green Run Homes Association are working with Palmer and other local business owners to start a Green Run Business Association, he said.
Green Run is a good neighborhood, Moeller said. But there are "little pockets" of problems, such as the Green Run Square Shopping Center, he said.
"I live in Green Run," he wrote in an e-mail, "and I'm tired of this neighborhood being tagged as dangerous due to fringe elements causing problems in or near it."
Kathy Adams, (757) 222-5155, kathy.adams@pilotonline.com
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As someone who grew up there
As someone who grew up there I sinmply do not remember it that way. In the 80's when the rep began to grow it was an uneventful place to live. Twin Canal and Carper being the exception. Problem is that both of these properties are supported by the goverment and damage those around them. Just as Atlantis does at the oceanfront.
Then and now the perps came from OUTSIDE the community.
Light rail???
You really think kids are gonna get on light rail while carrying off your TV's, laptops, etc.?????
gang run
Gang Run's rep extends beyond VA's borders. I live close by - I've learned what areas to avoid, esp at night. 'Little pockets' may indeed be true, but these little pockets have earned Green Run it's negative and appropriate alternative moniker.
You reap what you sew
You reap what you sew
Norfolk is heading your way Virginia Beach
Green Run is also known as Little Norfolk. It has been infested with gangs, crime, etc for years. The infestation of that area started almost immediately after builders of the 70's did their carpetbagging.This dangerous infestation started it's grow early and quick. It does not move in one direction, but is destroying Virginia Beach in a cylindrical method.Destroying neighborhoods all around it. That is just one pocket. Virginia Beach has many more of these. The biggest threat started it's spread at Lake Edwards where it started aggressively moving east across Newtown RD. and spreading at a rapid rate moving towards the Ocean front.The Green Run infestation is seriously deadly, and now seems also to be moving eastward down Lynnhaven Rd.
While these threats are invading fast, something even more dangerous is looming in the future.A deadly virus named "Light Rail" could possibly devastate Virginia Beach.
Light Rail will have the ability of going into the heart of a super infestation of gangs and transport them into Virgina Beach at a rate never dreamed of.
jwb
Yeah, PC . . .
Just trying to make sure you qualified the comments, buddy!
I think we could safely say *all* druggies are low income (except pushers, who often are not users anyway). But it can't be turned around to say that all low income are druggies/criminals. And that is all I wanted to hear from you.
Sleaze areas
All cities should have a sleazy area for such businesses as adult toy stores and night clubs. Such places could only operate in those designated areas. It would make it real easy for law enforcement. Now who wants such an area next to their neighborhood?
Rebuttal
BigD & Mary seem to have a problem understanding English. In my previous comment I said that "a number of", not "all" low income residents sell/use drugs etc. For the record, I do not believe that all low income people are on drugs but a large percentage of drug users fall into the low income class.
Since I was a longtime resident of that neighborhood and personally witnessed the exodus of the law abiding middle class homeowners, I stand by my comments. The statistics support my point. As the concentration of section 8 increased, so did the number of calls for police enforcement.
low income + victimization and entitlement
Agree that low income doesn't always produce increased crime. Many parts of eastern North Carolina are very low income, without the blight we see in Hampton Roads. There are other factors at work here: namely, entitlement and victimization. When low income populations have been taught that they are societal victims, and that they are entitled to more, then you will see increased crime.
"The habit we have of moving
"The habit we have of moving all of the cheap housing into areas like Green Run creates miles and miles of urban blight 25 years later."
Green Run's rep began over 20 years ago by a fight and shooting by navy housing residents at Carper. It is a myth. As a person who grew up on Lynnhaven Parkway, we all know the northern end of that road is rougher. The quality of housing is the same as the majority of VB that was put up in the 80's. To target this area causes the problem. After all, Bayside, Kempsville, Plaza, and many other neighborhoods have lesser construction. This is feeding into the myth.
The crime at this shopping center is less than you will see on Newtown Road and other areas to the west.
lol
The Past members of the Va Bch City Council that made MILLIONS on Green Run are either DEAD or in a Retirement Home.
Its this Legacy of past Millions that the CURRENT Va Bch City Council HOPES to emulate.............
.............pad THEIR pockets at the expense of others.
Typical city Politics.
I recently moved back to Surprising Suffolk..............ugh, same 'Good Ol Boy Network' in place ...........it's just the son's now running things.
Not all poor people commit crime!
That is a huge, and insulting, leap of logic.
Old houses that were built cheaply don't age well. That much is true. Esp if the current residents or owners can't afford repairs in the down economy.
We should be more like London and other cities overseas where public housing and mansions,and everything in between, are only one block apart. The habit we have of moving all of the cheap housing into areas like Green Run creates miles and miles of urban blight 25 years later. It is really sad, because those were nice starter homes 25 years ago.
Cheap houses?
Your comments about cheap houses is way off base. The housing in Green Run were built the same way as any other housing in Virginia Beach in the 70's. I agree with you on one point though - maintenance is the key to maintaining the value.
excelent computer service sorry had to move
I remember when Compu-Zoo was in that strip mall. It is now called CZ Computer Services. It was a well run bussiness very safe and clean with good service. They had to move because the mall went downhill fast. Still a great company to do nifty upgrades and coustom made computers for gameing or other advanced work. I also liked the taylor and had many alterations done there. I can't beleive they put an adult toy store beside a kids karate studio.
PCinSoCal makes a valid point
The suggestion to support quality construction makes sense. I don't get that he or she is "picking on" lower income families, only stating whats obvious. High quality construction and higher rents will create a better and safer class of customers. There are so many shabby areas in Va Beach, (ie. the trailer park off of birdneck and va beach), I'm also sad to see the decline of our beautiful strip.
If you've ever been to SoCal, you'd see how beautiful our city can be if handled by people with the vision to make it happen.
I support positive growth and harmony in our community, you should too.
It's more than a
Green Run neighborhood issue because the criminal activity has spread in all directions with recent murders north and east of the strip mall. Take a drive up Clubhouse Road starting from Fern Ridge Road during the day time and you'll see one or two 12 - 15 yr old boys standing on either side of the street dealing and at night its allot worse. Closing down MP island cafe is a start, the citizens banding together to send a message to the landlord and city council that they dont want an adult sex shop within a quarter mile of two elementary schools is another step.
former resident
I lived in Virginia Beach form 20+ years and now live in Norfolk. I grew up in VB and Graduated at GRHS. I have seen developers and buisnesses change that area so many times I dont even look to see what is there anymore. The two things I have noticed about both cities is that: one- the cities only spill money and effort into the buisness and resort areas to get them money. Meanwhile, the resedential areas continually have problems. Two- the cities continually allow low budget and section 8 residental areas to expand without any oversight. This continiously moves more low budget individuals into areas that grow like an illness. Eventually that illness eventually becomes terminally ill. Not saying that we should do away with low budget housing but should space it out more sparingly. Instead of allowing a 250 unit area, limit to no more than 20. This would allow a manageble and divers area to grow. Our city officials are nothing more than buisness owners that want to line their own pockets. We need social workers and law enforcement running our city councels, not lawyers and buisness owners. Put people in that are in touch with our city pulse in the seat to take care of the residents,
Two things!
One, Green Run is not a safe neighborhood; drug dealing and burglaries are common. Two, you can't blame the MP Island Restaurant for a murder that was the result of a drug deal set up by the police. The MP location has always been leased as a night club with very few problems. The Green Run neighborhod degradation is partially responsible for these events. Time for the city to clean up Green Run. Maybe the police need to remove some of the police officers from the oceanfront and concentrate on this and other blighted areas of the city.
Adult Store
The comment posted by PCinSoCal is an insult to lower income families. It sounds like all lower income families use or sell drugs and commit
all the crimes. How much trouble have they had at the Adult Book Store? These products serve a useful purpose to many people. Bibles should be sold only at Adult Book Stores.
Adult Toy Store
No one said there was trouble in or outside the Adult Toy Store. It was just pointed out that that type of store is 1) inappropriate next to a karate studio that teaches children and 2) it is indicative of a non-family friendly atmosphere in the shopping center and, therefore doesn't belong there. The landlord ought to be held accountable for that infraction.