Atlantic Beer Garden swears it's not a dive bar anymore

The Northern Avenue restaurant says it's taken steps to reduce the number of people who try to dive into Boston Harbor, following yet another incident that saw it explaining itself to the Boston Licensing Board.

Beer Garden officials say nobody has jumped into Boston Harbor from their decks since Aug. 10, when a patron took of his shoes and jumped in - and was promptly arrested. That came a couple months after somebody celebrated the Bruins' Stanley Cup win by diving into the harbor from the restaurant's roof - while holding a small replica of the Cup.

The Beer Garden has put signs along the perimeter of the deck that not only isd jumping into the harbor dangerous, it subjects the diver to possible arrest - unlike certain jumps off the nearby ICA, they are not sanctioned by the city. Also, restaurant bouncers tell anybody they see standing up - or even just peering over the edge - to sit down. People who refuse, or who keep doing it, are escorted off the deck, John Ruggierio, in charge of security for the restaurant, told the board today.

Still, all that failed to stop one man around 8:30 p.m. on Aug. 10. Ruggierio, who was working that night, said he noticed a group of people standing near the water - which at high tide might only be two or three feet below the railing - and asked them to sit. They did, but, he continued, as he went back inside, he noticed patrons there pointing toward the water and he turned around just in time to see a splash coming up.

According to a police report, the man was not intoxicated, he just was grabbed by a sudden urge to jump into the briny shallow, took off his shoes, but nothing else, and jumped in. A friend told police the jump took him by surprise. However, a woman spotted with a camera left before police arrived.

The jumper was charged with disturbing the peace; the police report noted a large crowd gathered to watch the goings on after he emerged from the water cold, but otherwise unharmed.

The board decides Thursday what action, if any, to take.