A new ordinance went into effect Wednesday forcing all gas stations in Hammond, Indiana, to close overnight in hopes of deterring crime.
"You have to do what you have to do to protect your interest," said customer Ivin Roberts, who said he understands the city’s decision. "It’s getting bad."
Hammond city leaders approved the ordinance over the summer as a measure to try and curb robberies and carjackings at different gas stations. Mayor Thomas McDermott first introduced the ordinance in July following the shooting death of a 33-year-old man.
Under the new ordinance, 37 gas stations operating in the city will have to close from midnight until 5 a.m. unless an exemption is made to stay open.
"Some of my customers who have been here forever the last 20 years, I know them," said gas station General Manager Vinod Patel. "They have to go somewhere. I don’t know what they’re going to do."
Patel operates two gas stations in Hammond. He said a good chunk of his customers work just down the street.
"I’m close to the BP refinery, so all the workers on the night shift they come here to buy smoke, coffee, and the snacks and pop and everything," said Patel.
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He relies on their business and told NBC Chicago about 15% of his revenue comes from the overnight shift at his location on Indianapolis Boulevard.
"At least we do about $3,500 to $4,000 business from midnight until 5 a.m.," he said.
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Patel and several other managers and operators have filed an exemption to stay open with the city.
"I believe around 10 have filed for exemptions, and I think at this point, close to five have received permissions to stay open past midnight," said Mayor McDermott. "We’re working on a few more at this point."
In order for the gas stations to remain open overnight, the mayor said the board of Public Works and Safety is considering several factors, including the proximity of the gas station to neighborhoods and the interstate, the number of crimes reported at that specific location, and whether security will be provided for staff and customers on-site.
"Frankly I’ve been talking to a lot of gas station owners," said the mayor. "I think it’s gone very smoothly considering it’s a major change in how we’ve done business. I think it’s gone very smoothly. We anticipated being serve with a lawsuit today, and that hasn’t happened yet."
Prior to the ordinance, the mayor said around seven gas stations opted to stay open overnight. Other municipalities like Oak Lawn also have something in place.
"I wish we didn’t have to do this," McDermott said. "I wish that in America people have the right to own weapons and we didn’t use them against each other, but unfortunately, we've been seeing more and more of this violent crime taking place lately. ... We’re not anti-gas, we’re not anti-gas stations, we’re just trying to regulate crime in our city."
