Pine Bluff Residents Angered Over Nightclub

Residents of Pine Bluff`s University Park neighborhood aren`t happy about a new neighbor. Ebony Club, a nightclub that hosted crowds for 25 years in downtown Pine Bluff, will open up shop on University Drive next month. "We have enough advertisements, we have enough things that attract our youth to the bad things in life," said Birlee Lever, a 30-year resident of University Park. Lever believes the club would attract a criminal element University Park has worked so hard to remove. Other neighbors agree. "We don`t know what type of people might be drawn to those places and how it might drift off into our neighborhoods," said Vera Solomon, also a 30-year resident of University Park. The club moved to University Drive after the original building was purchased to make room for the Jefferson County Jail expansion. Neighbors say the University Park area is already blighted by liquor stores and other alcohol-related businesses. Neighbors plan to discuss the club in a community meeting next week.