Hill Gap to close

by NANCY BERGER and MICHAEL J. MISHAK

Stock up on your jeans and turtlenecks, because the Gap, at 8600 Germantown Ave., is closing its doors at the end of business on Friday, December 26. Bah humbug.

According to Gap spokesperson Debbie Eliades, a “variety of metrics” were used in determining the future of the store, including demographics and the locations of other Gap stores. But one source told the Local that a high level of shoplifting kept the store from making its numbers. When questioned about the store’s loss prevention and security procedures, Eliades refused to comment, citing confidentiality concerns.

Other sources told the Local that the property owner, Hampton Associates, chose not to renew the chain store’s lease. Eliades offered no comment on the store's lease and messages left for the property owner by the Local have not been returned.

With the Gap's impending closing, some in the community wonder if an unresponsive police force is leading the business to vote with its feet.

In his public safety report to the Chestnut Hill Community Association board of directors on November 24, Brian Gordon described what he referred to as "the inherent problem of our district:" with an area so broad and socio-economically diverse, Chestnut Hill's "relatively small, but serious" problems often fail to receive immediate attention. Even with a dedicated bike patrol, Gordon wondered whether a seemingly consistent slow police response from district cars had motivated the Gap to close up shop.

But rather than pinning the problem on police, the Gap may be responsible for its own losses.

The Gap refused to comment on the existence of a company policy regarding prosecuting shoplifters.

"If they don't prosecute, they're a target," said Suzanne Biemiller, executive director of the Chestnut Hill Business Association (CHBA). Many of the national chain stores exercise a non-prosecutorial stance when they encounter theft, Biemiller said. Not limited to Chestnut Hill, chain stores place an emphasis on recovering merchandise rather than taking offenders to court, she said, effectively inviting crime.

"The problem is that people talk and they start to think, 'I won't get arrested if I shoplift here.'"

Despite a 14-year run at its current location, the Gap was surprisingly inactive in the CHBA in the wake of a series of armed robberies last spring. Plagued by an alleged shoplifting problem, the store has never reported any such incidents to the community's business association, Biemiller said. Other businesses on the Avenue usually report crime to the association and the CHBA subsequently issues security alerts to its members.

In addition, the Gap did not attend a security workshop for Hill businesses sponsored by the CHBA in July, Biemiller said. The workshop, staged in response to the string of armed robberies, offered tips to combat shoplifting and urged prosecution, she said.

Biemiller thinks police coverage on the Hill is very good. She urges businesses to follow through and prosecute, despite the inconvenience.

"The police are extremely responsive to the business district," she said. "The bike patrols go out of their way … they know us and we're fortunate to have them."

Still, the perception that Chestnut Hill competes with other areas of the district that regularly experience violent crime has left some to suggest alternatives. Gordon advocated the popular move to place another bike patrol on the Avenue to complement the current one. Greg Welsh, owner of the Chestnut Grill, even suggested creating a new Hill district or placing the area in a district that could accommodate its type of crime at a public safety meeting with police on November 6.

But Officer Calvin Johns, the district's community relations liaison, said police regularly assign four cars to patrol strictly Chestnut Hill over a 24-hour period with patrols staying above Cresheim Valley Drive. "Chestnut Hill basically has its own police department," Johns said, adding that the area also has two bike patrol officers who patrol Germantown Avenue on fluctuating 8-hour shifts.

Johns urged businesses to place clear address markers on the outside of their buildings to improve police response time. Businesses also have the option of enrolling in the department's logbook program, which would take police out of their cars and place them in stores for short visits, he said.

In light of the 14th District's inadequate manpower, Johns also supported the idea of installing surveillance cameras along the business corridor. Non-profit agencies can apply for an annual federal grant that would subsidize the camera installation and additional security personnel to monitor activity, Johns said. Cameras have been an effective deterrent to crime in other areas, most notably the Ogontz Avenue business corridor near 72nd Avenue, he said.

Gordon, a practicing attorney, maintained that the cameras, which would monitor public space, did not infringe on any expectation of privacy. Gordon said the community association was looking at the possibility of applying for grants.