San Juan Mayor Miguel Romero is seeking greater authority for municipalities to cancel operating permits for businesses that repeatedly violate the Public Order Code, without having to wait for lengthy administrative and judicial processes. Romero made the statement during an interview on Telemundo’s Primera Pregunta program, citing the need for municipalities to have more discretion and legal tools to intervene directly when a business has a history of non-compliance.
The mayor’s comments come after it was revealed that the Zoila Café business in Río Piedras had accumulated 16 fines for violating the Public Order Code, including selling alcohol outside permitted hours and excessive noise. The business was the scene of a shooting on Sunday that left three people dead and nine injured. According to the Puerto Rico Medical Services Administration, two of the injured have been discharged from the hospital, while five others remain hospitalized, two in critical condition.
The incident has reignited discussion about the authority municipalities should have to intervene against businesses with multiple infractions before they pose a risk to public safety. San Juan Municipal Police Commissioner Juan Jackson detailed the business’s infractions and noted that the municipality must exhaust procedural requirements before seeking judicial cancellation of permits.