As New Haven politicians pushed a new state effort to police problem bars, a downtown nightclub owner swung back.
Jason Cutler, owner of the Center Street Lounge, watched from the sidelines Friday morning as Mayor John DeStefano and New Haven state Sen. Martin Looney touted a new effort that would help cities “crack down on problem bars.” Then he dived in to a confrontation with a city official about the proposal.
Looney has introduced a bill at the Capitol that would set up a two-year pilot program giving New Haven police a chance to weigh in with state liquor control officials anytime city bars apply for a liquor permit renewal. The bill, which passed its first committee Thursday, wouldn’t give city cops veto power over anyone’s application, but would let them give a written recommendation to the state Department of Consumer Protection.
Under current law, liquor permit renewals require the city fire marshal’s approval, but the police chief is not notified of the application nor given a chance to add information.
Police have “no real authority or input on the renewals of existing permits,” said Looney. “This will give them input into that process,”
Melissa Bailey Photo
Mayor John DeStefano (pictured) touted the bill as a way to let police put a stop to problem bars like the Taurus Café, which recently reopened after the city successfully petitioned the state to shut it down in 2007.
There are 160 restaurants and bars downtown, and many more in the neighborhoods, DeStefano said. Most of them have “responsible operators” who police patrons and cooperate when the city has concerns, he said, but the city wants more tools to crack down on those who do not.
The bill passed the General Law Committee Thursday by a vote of 12 to 3; it now needs approval from the full Senate and House and the governor.
While no one mentioned his name during the press conference, Cutler (pictured) launched a rebuttal afterward about what he called a new “attack” on hardworking clubowners who bring business downtown and are blamed for violence outside of their control.
Surrounded by a ring of reporters, Cutler challenged Chief Administrative Officer Rob Smuts over the proposed policy.
“What are you saying, I should shut down and tell the hip-hop clientele that they don’t have a place to go anymore because Mayor DeStefano doesn’t want them in the city?” Cutler asked Smuts. “Is that what you’re saying?”
“That’s not at all what I’m saying,” Smuts countered. (Click on the play arrow at the top of the story to watch their exchange.)
Cutler has been at odds with the city over the last year, as the city tried to get bars to cough up money to pay for more cops in the wake of shootings in the downtown clubbing district. Cutler’s club sits on the edge of that district, on Center Street near the corner of Orange.
City officials say his club has been a hotspot for violence. On three consecutive weekends in December, there were “shots fired or a shooting related to folks who were in or coming out of” Cutler’s lounge, according to Smuts. Two years ago, a man was killed in a brawl that erupted out on Orange Street among patrons leaving the club.
“That’s not my fault,” Cutler yelled to Smuts Friday before the cameras. “What happens on the street, I cannot control. I do everything I can” to pat down clubgoers and prevent weapons from entering the club.
“Establishments have a lot of responsibility for not only what happens in their establishment, but what happens when people come out,” Smuts countered quietly.
Cutler is now on the verge of opening a second club, called Pulse (pictured), that opens onto the Temple Plaza, where Friday’s press conference was held.
He said he picked up the liquor permit Thursday — just in time to escape being targeted by city officials.
“Stop trying to intimidate me as a business owner. It’s not going to work,” said Cutler.
The club is going to open on St. Patrick’s Day morning, he said.
... . Cutler is right: he is responsible for the patrons while they're in his establishment (which includes the responsibility not to over-serve), but he can assume no liability for those people once they enter the public realm. That's the city's job: Protect and Serve!