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Pastor Hopes to Turn Site of Hookah Murder into Food Pantry

By Eddie Small | May 24, 2016 3:29pm
 Pastor Reggie Stutzman hopes to turn the former Tropicana nightclub into a food pantry.
Pastor Reggie Stutzman hopes to turn the former Tropicana nightclub into a food pantry.
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WEST FARMS — A Bronx pastor hopes to turn a former den of iniquity into a house of mercy.

Pastor Reggie Stutzman, who runs the Real Life Church in Hunts Point, would like to expand his organization's reach into West Farms and has his sights set on the vacant Tropicana nightclub at 1061 Home St. as a possible starting point.

"I feed 1,000 people every year in Hunts Point for Thanksgiving," he said. "My goal is to have a second feeding site, and that would be in West Farms."

He described the Tropicana as "a perfect venue to feed people not only on Thanksgiving but throughout the year."

It was unclear when and why the nightclub shut down, but it is listed as closed online, and its listed phone number is no longer in service.

The Tropicana had a checkered history, as it was the site of a deadly brawl between rival gangs in August 2013 where several people were slashed and reputed gang leader Juther Perez was beaten over the head with a hookah pipe.

Perez went into a coma and died roughly a week after the attack.

Stutzman's chief focus is currently on using the building as a site for a Thanksgiving feast complete with giveaways of clothes and toiletries, but he would like to turn it into a more permanent food pantry, church or clothing distribution center if he can have the space for more than just one event.

"If that building was available, I’d have a lot more other ideas—long term ideas—to be used for the West Farms community," he said. "There’s a lot of potential for it."

The Tropicana building is owned by the Anthony Avenue Corporation, which purchased the property in December 2009. The company did not respond to a request for comment about their plans for the building and their thoughts on using it as a food pantry.

If the owners do decide they do not want to turn the building into a food pantry or something similar, Stutzman said he would still work to hold a Thanksgiving event there and then simply look to expand elsewhere in West Farms, as he is adamant that the neighborhood could use some of the services his church provides.

"We've been in West Farms," he said. "We see the needs there are parallel to Hunts Point."