Atlanta city officials want troubled gas station in Adamsville shut down

ATLANTA, Ga. (CBS46) - Residents in Atlanta’s Adamsville neighborhood say the Citgo gas station on Martin Luther King Drive must go. People blame the gas station for the rise in drug sales, violence and prostitution.

Russia Reese says Adamsville isn’t the same neighborhood he remembers as a kid. Not a day goes by that he doesn’t see drug deals, prostitution or gun violence.

“All these beautiful homes in the back of this place and they come to the main drag, they’re really afraid to get gas,” said Reese.

A lot of the crime is centered around the Citgo gas station along Martin Luther King Drive. CBS46 obtained records from Atlanta Police that show so far this year, officers have responded to 98 calls at the gas station alone. Just last month, two people were injured in a shooting on the gas station property.

“This is an immediate crisis for the Adamsville community,” said Councilwoman Andrea Boone, District 10 representative.

Atlanta Police have stepped up patrols and the gas station tenant hired security. But Councilwoman Boone says eliminating the gas station altogether is the only way to fix the problem. Next week, the city plans to take the owner to court in hopes that an Atlanta city judge will declare the property a nuisance, allowing the city to close it down.

“We’re most concerned with the children that have to see this. They walk up and down from the Atlanta Heights Charter School, and they are afraid,” said Boone.

Cynthia Douglas isn’t convinced the gas station should close. She owns a restaurant next door and wants the city to address the bigger issue of drug abuse and mental illness.

“I think if they find something to help the people then that’ll help the situation,” said Douglas. “Because if you close the gas station down, it’s just going to move people further up and further down. They’re still not going anywhere.”

CBS46 reached out to the gas station tenant as well as Citgo Petroleum Corporation, which is named in the complaint. They did not immediately respond.

Councilwoman Boone says dozens of Adamsville residents plan to be in court next week, enough people to fill two buses.

Their court date is slated for next Thursday, August 18, 2022.

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