Photo by Walker Evans.

After a beer and wine carryout and gas station in the King Lincoln District was declared a public nuisance, residents of the building’s precinct, a group called NOBO Friends, banded together to create a neighborhood ballot initiative prohibiting the sale of alcohol to be consumed off-site. That initiative will appear on the ballot in May for Ward 7, Precincts B and D.

It all started with a convenience store called Chips ’n’ Go, located at 1020 E. Broad St., on the corner of N. 20th Street. Neighbors became vocal about the litter, the criminal activity and the public intoxication that was common around the business. Drug use, heavy pedestrian traffic and prostitution were regular sightings. Eventually the store’s liquor license was revoked, and it closed last year.

NOBO Friends have now created a ballot initiative that could prohibit the sale of beer, wine and mixed beverages for off-premise consumption for all of Ward 7, Precinct B, where Chips ’n’ Go resided, and Precinct D in the same ward. King Lincoln and Olde Towne East residents living north of Broad, east of 71, south of Mount Vernon and west of Champion would be affected, but it wouldn’t affect the operations of Cornerstone Carryout, at 61 Parsons Ave.

Some residents are weary about the overall effect that the passage of this ballot proposal could have. Marshall Soto, who lives in the neighborhood, says it doesn’t seem to address any underlying issue.

“If we get rid of alcohol in our little area here, maybe it’s ideal for all of the property values to increase or for crime to go down, or whatever outcome it is that you’re looking for,” Soto says. “However, what’s going to happen to the people who were maybe displaced that had dependencies? Are they just going to go to Mt. Vernon? It’s not really fixing anything. It’s a little selfish, I guess — just sloughing the issue onto someone else.”

No organized opposition to the initiative has appeared yet. Follow CU for updates.