isnt America great!!!
City may ban sales of drinks in Series
By Andrea Estes, Globe Staff | October 22, 2004
Mayor Thomas M. Menino, blaming "knuckleheads" for the disorder that led to a death and several injuries after Wednesday's Red Sox victory, said the city is considering "drastic measures," including banning liquor sales, to ensure that World Series crowds do not turn violent.
Menino said he may invoke a state law, never before used in Boston, allowing him to ban the sale or distribution of alcohol "in cases of riot or great public excitement." Menino also said that he will ask bar and restaurant operators today to ban live television coverage during games, because it incites fans.
Attributing the mayhem to "thugs," Menino said he also has urged area college and university officials to immediately expel any students identified as taking part in street disturbances.
"Since people won't act responsibly, I, as mayor, will take it into my own hands," he said of measures planned for series games. "The kids out there, they're adults. . . . They have a responsibility to make sure this goes off well."
As city councilors urged more police presence during the World Series, potentially with the help of officers from other cities, Menino dismissed possibilities including curfews or bringing in the National Guard.
And although he called the death of an Emerson College student yesterday a profound tragedy, he played down worries that World Series crowds could be worse. "Honestly, I don't think the intensity will be there," Menino said. "There was real animosity toward the Yankees."
The possibility of shutting off liquor sales during the World Series, which begins tomorrow and Sunday at Fenway and could come back to Boston next week for potential Game 6 and 7, drew criticism from restaurant owners.
"If you shut down the bars, the problem will get worse," said Alan Eisner, executive director of the Massachusetts Hospitality Association. "At least in a licensed premise you have supervision."
Many clubs and bars around Fenway Park were not even open Wednesday night, he said, adding that drinking occurs in dorms and at house parties.
Menino planned to meet with bar and nightclub owners today. A lawyer who represents bar operators said the owners are likely to resist a ban on alcohol sales during the World Series, because it would eat into a large share of much-needed business.
"This is a big deal for a lot of the bars and restaurants that have been very slow," said the lawyer, who asked not to be identified.
Other industry representatives said bar owners also probably would protest loudly if Menino bans alcohol sales in bars but allows sales in Fenway. Menino said yesterday he did not know whether any alcohol ban would apply inside Fenway Park.
"There are 33,500 people in the park, and alcohol might not be banned, but it's banned outside?" said Peter Christie, president of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association. "That doesn't make a lot of sense. . . . Barring drinking in a controlled environment would be like throwing kerosene on smoking coals. It may . . . force people who want to drink to go someplace else."
In Brookline, town officials said they are not considering banning liquor sales during the World Series, raising the possibility that fans in the Fenway area will migrate across city lines.
Bar owners said they fear that bars and liquor stores in neighboring communities would reap the rewards of a Boston alcohol ban.
"Brookline will definitely make out," said Nick Daponde, assistant general manager of the Boston Billiards Club.
City residents waiting in line for World Series tickets also expressed opposition to the idea.
"Prohibition laws were stupid in the 1700s, and they are stupid now," said Brendan Ryan, 26. "People will just drink at home. And by the way, liquor doesn't make people idiots. The idiots already exist."
Meanwhile, Councilor Michael Ross, who represents the Back Bay, urged officials to deploy as many police during World Series games as were assigned to the Democratic convention.
Red Sox owners have agreed to put on additional private police details at Fenway games during the series, city officials said. Also, Red Sox players will appear in public service ads urging calm.
Globe staff writer Megan Tench and Globe correspondent Heather Allen contributed to this report.
© Copyright 2004 Globe Newspaper Company.
