The Borough Council Responds to the Street Takeover
Monroe UnfilteredFirst, a correction. Yesterday's lead said Stroudsburg Borough Council “meets tonight” to take up the Main Street takeover fallout. That meeting had already happened the night before, Tuesday, Sept. 1. We're sorry for the mix-up. Here is what actually happened when the council took it up.
Stroud Area Regional Police Lt. Robert Cohowicz walked the room through the timeline of the Aug. 29 incident. An officer arrived at Main and Seventh streets about three minutes after the first report of vehicles doing burnouts, then got pulled away to assist with an Interstate 80 pursuit before returning just after midnight to find the intersection packed with onlookers. Cohowicz said a house party in Stroud Township that broke up about an hour earlier likely fed the crowd that ended up downtown.
SARPD Chief Jennifer Lyon told council officers stayed on scene until 3 a.m., and that despite the chaos, there were no shootings, robberies, rapes, or major assaults. She confirmed an active investigation is underway, declined to detail it publicly, and said the department is adding Quality of Life patrols on top of what's already running.
Mayor Ellen Currie defended her state of emergency and curfew, acknowledging the underlying language is “pretty soft” but noting Main Street has stayed quiet the two nights since. Council President Matt Abell said the borough is working with new downtown manager Michael Moreno on a block captain and adopt-a-block program, and asked residents to register home security cameras with police so footage can support the investigation.
Public comments ran long. State Rep. Tarah Probst, the former Stroudsburg mayor, pushed back on residents blaming council and the mayor online, calling it unfair to a small town trying to protect its businesses. Penn Stroud Hotel's Kayur Patel, representing a business that's sunk millions into downtown, said the incident “gives us serious pause” and pressed officials to plan for the unexpected rather than just react to it.
Abell closed by confirming Monroe County District Attorney Michael Mancuso intends to make the charges against those involved public, calling them felonies.
