Gary cites sites for violating restrictions

City addresses complaints of gentlemen’s clubs, nightclubs not adhering to pandemic protocols

A hard-lined approach to enforcing COVID-19 social distancing and mask wearing requirements has helped wrangle some Gary businesses in violation of those rules into compliance.

Gary police Chief Brian Evans said the city began enforcing the COVID-19 restrictions in early December after a November informational session for business owners hosted by Mayor Jerome Prince and Dr. Roland Walker, the city’s health commissioner.

“We didn’t start with citations,” Evans said.

About 30 businesses attended the session where they were given information on how to operate safely and in compliance with the latest COVID-19 restrictions, Evans said. For example, while a business may operate at 50% capacity, it must still comply with a 6-foot social distancing protocol, he said. The session was intended to help businesses figure out how to calculate how many people they can service indoors.

During the first weekend of enforcement Dec. 3 through Dec. 5 nine businesses were cited for violating the protocols.

“It was a first for us, but we thought it was necessary,” Evans said. The businesses violating the protocols were nightclubs and gentlemen’s clubs. Evans said the gatherings at the locations were large.

Clubs cited the first weekend of enforcement were The Loft ADIQ Ultra Lounge, Voodoo Lounge, Playo’s Nightclub, Hunter’s Inn, Zanzibar Lounge, Honey’s Private Gentlemen’s Club, Temptations Gentleman’s Club, Panthera’s Cocktail Lounge and Roxy’s.

In the second weekend of enforcement, Dec. 10-12, only one business, Honey’s Private Gentlemen’s Club was cited. This past weekend, Dec. 17-19 one business was cited, Black Oak Tap. Evans said the citations are working.

“We have compliance and cooperation from the owners, which was the goal,” Evans said.

Evans said owners need to treat the pandemic the same way they would treat other safety issues withing their businesses.

“I think the onus is on the owners who want to do business. They have to make it safe,” Evans said.

Hammond Lt. Steve Kellogg said the department investigates every complaint it receives regarding a gathering that my be in excess of the 25-person mandate.

“We do not issue citations directly, however,” Kellogg said.

Responding officers will document the people in control of the situation or business, the location, the time, the date and the violation. That information is turned over to the Lake County Health Department for investigation.

George O’Donnell, environmental sanitarian with the Lake County Health Department, said the department investigates every complaint it receives, either from enforcement entities like the Hammond police or from individuals.

“What we are trying to do when people call with complaints is take those and try to follow through whatever the nature of the complaint is,” O’Donnell said.

If a business if found in violation and cannot be brought into compliance by request, complaints are forwarded to the Lake County prosecutor’s office for enforcement. O’Donnell said he has not yet had to forward complaints to the prosecutor’s office. It is unclear if the other investigators had forwarded any complaints. The prosecutor’s office did not respond to a request seeking to know if it had received any complaints for consideration.

“We have no fining powers. We don’t actually call in the state police or local police,” O’Donnell said. The department relies on businesses to adhere to the rules and voluntarily comply if a complaint is filed. Businesses contacted by the department are asked to review Gov. Eric Holcomb’s most recent executive order and abide by it.

“It is really incumbent on businesses and the people managing those business and running them to follow the rules,” O’Donnell said.