A coalition of Asian and Arab American business owners in Philadelphia have sued the city over a late-night curfew, citing discriminatory and biased enforcement practices.

As reported on Axios, both the Asian American Licensed Beverage Association of Philadelphia (AALBA) and Arab American Business and Professional Association of the Delaware Valley (AAB) filed a federal lawsuit that claimed that state and local laws are discriminatorily affecting Asian and Arab American owners of alcohol takeout, or “stop-and-go”, stores.

The coalition’s attorneys claimed that efforts to revoke liquor licenses could result in closures, and that the same treatment wasn’t being applied to more affluent, White areas. It was also pointed out that many restaurants and bars sell alcohol to-go but aren’t as heavily monitored.

The lawsuit also argued that the inquiry over the predominately Asian and Arab-owned shops has been so generalized that owners that have reported crimes at their businesses often found themselves facing punishment.

“[Philadelphia and Pennsylvania] seek to shut down businesses that are overwhelmingly owned by Asian Americans and Arab Americans through the passage of vague ordinances that carry draconian punishments”, the lawsuit states.

“We just feel like we are being treated differently than the rest of the city”, said AALBA president Bill Chow, in an interview with The Philadelphia Inquirer. “We want to be treated equally.”

For decades, state and local lawmakers have argued about how to fairly regulate stop-and-go’s and similar establishments that sell alcohol. Some Philadelphians, including neighbors of stop-and-go’s, have viewed the stores as hotspots for noise, violence, prostitution, and drug dealing.

Members of Philadelphia’s City Council established a curfew from 11 p.m. – 6 a.m. in Kensington, one of America’s largest open drug markets, earlier this year. Axios reports that this curfew was implemented as a broader public safety plan to improve quality of life for residents.

The group’s attorney said that while the curfew is intended as a countermeasure against “actual lawbreakers”, the people who are most affected in the end are “law-abiding business owners”.

Back in February, Riley Deli received a citation after the arrest of two alleged drug dealers there, but the charges against the suspects were dropped. Yet the citation against Riley remained with the threat that another violation could lead to the closure of the business.

The owners of Riley Deli have said that they are afraid of reporting crime and suspicious activity, out of fear of further repercussions. Other business owners have reported similar treatment, such as being cited for littered beer cans on their grounds or people drinking outside their stores.

While the AALBA and AAB represent over 100 businesses, several AAB members who do not sell liquor have been impacted by the curfew, according to the lawsuit.

Kyle Garabedian, one of the attorneys representing the business associates, told The Philadelphia Inquirer that “What people seem to be wanting to police is crime”, but “instead of doing that, they are targeting law-abiding businesses.”.

The coalition’s lawyers have reportedly asked a judge to issue a ruling restricting city officials from enforcing the curfew, and also requested an unspecified payout and a stay of proceedings for the renewal of member’s liquor licenses.

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