JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Residents in the Brentwood community are unhappy about a liquor store that is going up on Golfair Boulevard right across the street from a school. The plan was approved by the city’s planning commission in 2020.
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Many community members say they have too many liquor stores right now.
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“We are not a community of alcoholics,” Lydia Bell said.
Bell, who is a community member says this just isn’t right.
“We do not need another liquor store in Brentwood,” Bell said.
Bell even said when the planning commission approved this idea back in 2020, residents weren’t even notified about the meeting,
A document that Action News Jax obtained from a concerned community member shows the meeting was held on Jul. 23, 2020.
Read: Police: Thieves stole ATM from liquor store in 30 seconds
The document also states that there would be no physical location available for that meeting. It was rather held on Zoom instead, due to the pandemic
For Bell and other community members like Antonio Sanders, the biggest issue about this liquor store is sits steps away from where students attend Kipp Voice Academy, in a predominantly black community.
“Show me, anywhere in the nation where a liquor store is across the street from a proximately white school, we are just not going to sugar coat it,” Sanders said.
Maceo George, who lives in the Arlington area says this is an attack on the Brentwood community
“It’s a deliberate intent from our elected officials to create crime. People are going to be buying the liquor and speeding down the street,” said George.
Read: Man shot and killed after fight in a drive-thru liquor store in Jacksonville, JSO says
Jacksonville city council member Reggie Gaffney Jr. also attended the press conference and says there are some next steps, he and the citizens are going to take.
“Everybody will be at the city council tonight and speak out against it. my job as the current city council, I’m going get with legal to see what we can do,” Gaffney Jr. said.
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We did try to reach out to the owner of this property, and he has yet to get back with me to answer some of the community concerns and our questions.