City mulls pulling liquor license from Price Hill BP station dubbed ‘nuisance’

CINCINNATI (WXIX) - Cincinnati City Council is on the verge of revoking the liquor license of a Price Hill gas station that community leader say is a crime hotspot.

Cincinnati police say the BP station on Glenway Avenue is a nuisance in the neighborhood, but the gas station’s owners counter they haven’t had enough time to change.

“There’s been violence, shootings, homicides,” Patty Hogan with the Price Hill Safety Community Action Team said Tuesday at a meeting of Cincinnati City Council’s Public Safety and Governance Committee.

PREVIOUSLY | 1 dead, 1 injured in East Price Hill shooting

It’s not just the crime, according to Sheila Rosenthal with the East Price Hill Improvement Association.

“The litter there is insane,” she said, “and the property is not kept clean.”

Police believe the gas station is a drain on resources. They say there have been 132 calls for service there since January 2021 including seven assaults and the December homicide.

On top of that, police believe workers have sold alcohol to underage customers, and in March they charged an employee accused of having drugs and scales on the coutner.

“We made another felony arrest with drug trafficking and got a gun off that property, so this is a continuation,” said Cincinnati Police Sgt. Jacob Hicks.

The business’s co-owners bought it in October 2021. The attorney who represents them says they are good people who want to make changes but haven’t been given the chance.

“Without taking away any responsibility from the prior owner or us for the problems that have persisted here, this is a rough neighborhood, so crime is going to find its way in this neighborhood, either our store or something else,” said attorney Chris Finney.

Finney says the current owners are committed to improving, adding they’re in the process of installing equipment to eliminate underage sales.

“We can either be a blighted, empty corner, and my clients lose a quarter million dollars, or we can invest in this community and become a pillar of strength with lighting, with cameras,” he argued.

Cincinnati City Council could vote to revoke the permit Wednesday.

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