OBSERVER Photo by M.J. Stafford Dunkirk Common Council member Nancy Nichols speaks at Tuesday’s meeting. Looking on is Councilman Martin Bamonto.

According to Councilwoman Nancy Nichols, the new opioid addiction treatment clinic on Third Street in Dunkirk has injected fear and crime into the neighborhood.

“I’ve had a lot of seniors and elderly people that are extremely petrified of going into any of the businesses on Main and Fourth (streets) because of people that are loitering around there,” she said at this week’s Common Council meeting.

Questioning Mayor Wilfred Rosas, “I thought when the clinic made their presentation they were going to have some kind of holding area for those people that are going in for the treatments… I don’t know if you could look into it, or have somebody look into it so that they’re not wandering the streets. They’re dropped off at 9 (a.m.) and they don’t get picked up until later in the day and they’re just causing a lot of havoc.”

Nichols also attributed last year’s closing of the Walgreens on nearby Fourth Street to a wave of shoplifting caused by clinic customers. When the closure happened, Walgreens did not respond to OBSERVER requests for an explanation.

“I’ve talked to employees at CVS, at Save-a-lot and at Dollar General and I’m very fearful. We lost one store and I know one of the girls that worked there, and that was one of the reasons why, was because they were being shoplifted continually. A great many of them would walk in there and try to make the employees think they’re to check on this group, when this group over here was stuffing their pant legs and pockets and everything else with merchandise.”

Nichols continued, “I’m fearful for the three buildings there that house our senior citizens.” Many of the residents were upset by the loss of Walgreens and its pharmacy service, she said.

According to a number of media reports, Walgreens closed more than 100 locations nationwide during that same time the city location was closed.

“I promised a group of the elderly that I would bring it to your attention at the meeting, and I’m sorry I have to do it this way, and I don’t know if there’s anything you can do about it,” Nichols concluded her query to Rosas.

The mayor responded, “As far as shoplifting in these stores, my recommendation for them would be to have some store detectives and beef up their security.”

Regarding the clinic, “That I’m aware of, there have not been any major issues there. The fact of the matter is, we do have many people in our community that need these services of that clinic.”

Rosas promised to look into the issues Nichols brought up. “My understanding, and again, the (police) chief (David Ortolano) and I have both looked into this just a few months ago, and I believe there are no outstanding issues there, but I’ll look into it again,” he said.