MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Residents in an East Memphis community are outraged over a proposal to replace a dry cleaning establishment with a gas station in the Sea Isle Park neighborhood. Some residents have shared their frustration on social media.
Recently, neighbors who live at Sea Isle Park near Quince and White Station received a letter from Memphis and Shelby County Land Use Control Board about the proposed gas station.
Ken Burgon co-owns Quince Style and Barbershop in the Quince Station Shopping Center, said he's concerned a gas station could bring unwanted problems.
"We don't think it's a good idea, especially now since it's been such high crime in Memphis and gas stations have a bad rap of carjackings, being robbed at gunpoint, smash and grabs, the whole nine yards," Burgon said.
Burgon said he's witnessed multiple vehicle crashes in the past and believes those problems will become bigger with a new gas station. He said other business owners have similar concerns, and more crime could possibly scare customers away.
"If it potentially causes higher crime in the area, people will tend to go somewhere else, so it could be a deterrent of business in the area. Not just for us, but for everybody," he said.
Ron Smith has been a Sea Isle Park resident for 12 years. He said his biggest question is why their neighborhood would need more gas stations.
"There's too many gas stations around within a mile. You got one to the north, you got two to the south - they're everywhere."
David Jones said they've expressed their opposition to the proposed gas station in a Sea Isle Park Facebook group.
Jones said he wrote a letter to the Land Use Control Board asking that body to reject the gas station and convenience store applicant's proposal at their meeting next month.
"We do have a lot of concerns, especially with crime," he said. "If a store gets held up, this could be the way that they escape, and we don't want that in our neighborhood."
Memphis Crime Data showed there were 38 reported crimes, 21 thefts and five motor vehicle thefts in the last year in the parking lot where the gas station is proposed.
ABC24 reached out to the project's applicant, Fasil Kebede of Beruk Construction, Inc. for a response to the Sea Isle Park concerns. One of his staff members told ABC24 Kebede was too busy this week to provide a statement.
The Land Use Control Board is scheduled to consider the gas station proposal at Memphis City Hall on August 8 at 9 a.m.