Syracuse residents crowded the steps of City Hall Wednesday morning to protest a city ordinance that could force a local music store to relocate.

The Sound Garden, a music, movie and video game store, is currently under review for violating a new provision of the second-hand dealer ordinance or “pawn shop ordinance.” The provision requires the store to keep extensive records of the products it purchases.

David Andrew Gay, who is running for Common Council of Syracuse, organized the protest, which took place just before the Syracuse Common Council meeting that afternoon. The Common Council meeting was called to deliberate the Sound Garden’s request to waive the provision.

“Subjecting the Sound Garden to the pawn shop ordinance is just absurd,” Gay said. “They’re not a pawn shop, they’re a record store. Pushing them out of town over the possibility that a box of two dollar records might get stolen seems ridiculous.”

Supporters, both young and old, lined the sidewalk outside of City Hall, carrying signs labeled “Save the Sound Garden” and “The Sound Garden is Not a Pawn Shop.”

Albert Tubbert, a resident of Syracuse, said he was disappointed that the turnout at the protest wasn’t larger. He said the small crowd could possibly be attributed to the time scheduled for the Common Council meeting.

“It’s important for the community to show their support like this in front of City Hall,” Tubbert said. “If Sound Garden were to leave, I think it would be a serious blow to the city of Syracuse.”

The Sound Garden serves a specific purpose in the city because it upholds the tradition of selling records, he said. The Sound Garden also holds community events like artist meet-and-greets and local band concerts, which demonstrates the store’s care for the community.

Tubbert said he came down to City Hall specifically because he wanted to speak with Gay’s Common Council opponent, Jake Barrett, who chairs the council’s Public Safety committee. The Public Safety committee is one of many committees currently debating the second-hand dealer ordinance and its implications for stores like the Sound Garden.

The Sound Garden has requested an exemption from the second-hand dealer ordinance by compromising with the Syracuse Police Department, said Randy Potter, a resident of Syracuse. The Sound Garden offered to place a camera over the front counter and connect it directly to SPD headquarters as a live feed of customers that enter the store, he said. The feed would settle any concerns raised by the committee regarding stolen merchandise.

“It’s almost essential that we have assets like Sound Garden in the city,” Potter said. “You can get music anywhere, but there’s just such great tradition to be found in going down to a brick and mortar store and shopping for music yourself.”

Kerri Mcardle, a resident of Syracuse, said she learned about the protest through a Facebook event. She said she is a frequent customer of the Sound Garden which she described as a “Syracuse staple.”

Said Mcardle: “If you want to get your music heard, you go to Sound Garden. If you want to buy good music, you go to Sound Garden. If they take that away from us, then what do we have?”

Published on May 9, 2013 at 1:00 pm

Contact Annie: apalme05@syr.edu