Area pawn shop meets opposition

Residents concerned about city’s image and potential for more crime

Thursday, March 30, 2006

In an effort to quell the worries of College Park residents opposed to a new pawnshop on Greenbelt Road, store owner Scott Cutlip has embarked on a goodwill tour to various civic associations over the last three months.

At the North College Park Citizens Association meeting in February, Cutlip, accompanied by Prince George’s County Pawn Unit Det. Scott Finn, encountered a group largely against his shop. At the March 16 Berwyn District Civic Association meeting, Cutlip faced even stiffer opposition, as the association voted unanimously to oppose his application for a pawn license.

If Cutlip obtains the license, he will operate the city’s second pawnshop. The other is A-1 Pawnbrokers on Edgewood Road.

Cutlip, who signed the building lease last June, said the store will open within a month. If the county does not approve his application before then, Cutlip said the store would be a retail business, selling and trading mostly second-hand items. Cutlip said the license would allow the store to give loans to customers.

‘‘You’re not going to walk in and think you’re in a thrift store or something,” said Cutlip, who owns pawnshops in Laurel, Riverdale and Silver Spring. ‘‘They’ll see that it’s not going to be a junk store.”

Heather Iliff, president of the BDCA, said she and other members opposed the pawn application for several reasons.

‘‘We’re concerned about the message it sends about the neighborhood,” Iliff said. ‘‘We know that stolen items are handled in pawn shops ... and you don’t want someone dealing with stolen items so close to a neighborhood.”

After the Berwyn meeting, Cutlip said he felt residents had their minds made up before he and Finn gave their presentation.

‘‘They were not open minded about it,” Cutlip said. ‘‘They have their preconceived notions, but [most of them] haven’t been in a pawnshop.”

In February, the NCPCA voted 9 to 8 to take no action on the application ‘‘provided that the business is not identified as a pawnshop,” said association President Mark Shroder. Cutlip said the shop would probably be named Unlimited Wholesale.

Corey Harbison, NCPCA vice president, said her case against the application is simple.

‘‘I don’t think we should have pawnshops in College Park,” she said. ‘‘I can’t imagine a Macy’s wanting to be located next to a pawnshop.”

Mike and Judy Fusco, North College Park residents, said they have noticed the unappealing atmosphere of towns and cities with several pawnshops.

‘‘You can see the demise in those towns,” said Judy Fusco. ‘‘I’m sure upscale businesses aren’t going to move to College Park, but we can do better than pawnshops.”

Mike Fusco said he is worried that a pawnshop would provide incentive for people to rob others and cash in at the shop.

‘‘It’s partly because of the undesirables that it would attract and once it is established, people would have to worry about thieves being in the area,” he said.

Mark Seaton, the neighborhood watch co-coordinator for the Berwyn District, said he is not against commercial development, but concerned about the ‘‘negative connotation of a pawnshop.”

As Berwyn residents continue to encourage more owner-occupied homes, Seaton said a pawnshop might undermine the group’s efforts.

Deborah Mims, a Berwyn resident and the supervisor of the D.C. Police’s Pawn Unit, said the pawnshop would drag down the community.

‘‘It will be like fly paper for crime,” said Mims, who also took issue with Cutlip’s relationship with Finn.

‘‘I really have serious issues with the owner having a personal relationship [with Finn],” she said. ‘‘It is a conflict of interest.”

Finn said he was personally invited to both association meetings, and that he meets with Cutlip and other shop owners weekly.

‘‘I’m not advocating for [pawnshops] at all, nor am I against them,” Finn said. ‘‘And I was there at [the associations’] request.”

Cutlip said his stores record personal information for each pawn, and reports items to the county police. The store is required to report every item to the police, Finn said, and wait 30 days before selling the merchandise.

‘‘If someone steals something from you and sells it to us, there’s a good chance you’ll get it back,” Cutlip said.

For low-income residents, Cutlip said trading personal merchandise for money is the only option.

‘‘To a lot of people, a pawn shop is their checking account,” Cutlip said. ‘‘I want to deal with people who need help paying a mortgage payment or utility bill.”

Iliff said pawnshops’ interest rates — Cutlip said his stores charge about 20 percent per month — equates to ‘‘more of a loan shark service.”

‘‘They take advantage of the most vulnerable people in a community,” Iliff said.

E-mail Dennis Carter at dcarter@gazette.net.