Danbury Businesses Complaining About Drunks

Just knock on the door of a Main Street business, and you'll hear a story about how a drunk person is scaring away customers, asking for money, or cursing pedestrians.

"Every day I'm chasing them away. Richie's chasing them away. Every day. It isn't fun any more," said Jimmy Eliopoulos, owner of Fat Wedge, 14 Ives St. Eliopoulos said he has to keep moving them along or his customers get intimidated.

Rich Antous, the downtown supervisor for the Unified Neighborhood Inspection Team, said his family has been in business in Danbury for about 120 years, and his whole goal is to improve the city. Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton hired Antous to work on Main Street, and Boughton said on Wednesday he expected to make Antous a full-time worker within the next week or two. Boughton defined the problem with Main Street.

"The problem is we have 15 to 25 chronically homeless people who we have tried to put into treatment and they have refused or walked out after a day or two and they are hurting the quality of life downtown," Boughton said. 

Around the corner at Ed's Cigar Box, 279 Main St., Pritesh Patel said, "They keep asking my customers for money. It's bad for business. People don't like it."

Patel said his first job every morning is to put the trash back in the city trash can on Main Street, because people went through it the night before looking for bottles to return for cash. "They argue about who has the right to the bottles," Patel said.

"They're drunk early in the morning and they're asking for money all day long. That's why I don't let them stand in front of my store," Patel said. "The woman, if she asks you for money and you don't give it, then she curses you."

Across Main Street at AWA Medical Supplies, 272 Main St., Sonny Marrero said he doesn't hear a lot of complaints. His customers drive to his shop for medical supplies because they have to. It's a destination stop. It doesn't attract much business from people walking by.

"One time we had to call the ambulance for a guy. He was laying on the sidewalk. I couldn't even tell if he was breathing. He was dead drunk," Marrero said.

Members of the CityCenter Board of Directors held a small business meeting Wednesday to discuss the problem and how to address it. George Korres, owner of Nico's Pizza, 175 Main St., told a story about a guy who walked into his restaurant Tuesday night and caused a scene in an attempt to get an ambulance ride to Danbury Hospital.

"It was his third time this week," Korres said. "We couldn't get rid of him. He wants a warm bed so he creates a disturbance. He gets an ambulance."

Maurice Samaha at Danbury Liquor, 18 White St., voluntarily changed the hours of his liquor store from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m., in part because of pressure from the city to curb alcohol sales downtown. To address the drinking issue downtown, the city is considering an ordinance to change the opening time from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. downtown.

"I was telling one guy today, 'You're ruining everyone's business. Why are you down here driving everyone crazy," Samaha said. He has run the liquor store at 18 White St., for 35 years. "In the old days, you didn't notice, now with the less foot traffic, they stand out."