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Another waterfront bar tries to stop patrons from making a splash
By adamg on Tue, 10/04/2011 - 10:55am
A man who jumped into Boston Harbor from the roof deck at Whiskey Priest in August has gotten the bar in hot water.
A manager at the Northern Avenue watering hole told Boston Licensing Board Chairwoman Nicole Murati Ferrer today they've added additional staff to the deck and posted 10 to 12 signs around the deck warning that harbor jumping will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law - assuming they can catch the jumpers to begin with.
According to the bar and Boston Police, two bar workers had to fish the guy out of the water, because he kept trying, but failing to get up on a floating dock across the water from the bar. A bar manager and doorman tried to hold the man - a member of a bachelor party, possibly the bachelor himself - but he slipped away and ran down Northern Avenue. The two workers caught up with him by Jerry Remy's, but then he managed to run away again.
The jump happened four days before a similar incident at the neighboring Atlantic Beer Garden, which has since posted similar signs.
The manager, however, said there is little the bar can do to stop a determined jumper from performing "spontaneous acts of stupidity" - especially somebody who is surrounded by guys egging him on - and hiding him. In this case, bar workers had absolutely no indication the guy was going to jump, he said, adding there have been no further jumps since then.
The board will decide in the next week or two what action, if any, to take, after board members Milton Wright and Suzanne Ianella, both absent today, listen to a recording of today's hearing.
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Comments
Isn't it Whiskey Priest, not Whiskey Point?
N/T
You know your bars
You're right, thanks, fixed.
Not to be confused with Whiskey Park or Whiskey's
Not to be confused with Whiskey Park or Whiskey's!
Also not to be confused with...
the Frisky Priest.
This whole problem would be
This whole problem would be solved if they make it not a crime to swim in the harbor.
Why is it a crime other then to stop stupid people from doing stupid things. (not that a law would prevent such things)
It costs money to rescue
It costs money to rescue drunk idiots who have jumped into the harbor. Don't you think cops have something better to do?
So, bill them for the rescues
just like unprepared, irresponsible hikers can be billed for their rescues in the White Mountains.
Can you bill them....
...for a rescue nobody requested?
You can't just go "rescue" someone and them hand them a bill for $10K if they or someone else didn't ask that they be rescued. Or at least I would doubt it. Fat chance collecting it.
Also, that's a relatively new law in NH - I don't know if MA has a law like it.
What law?
I'd love to know what law this is....
Exactly.
There are absolutely no laws being broken, either by the patroons or the bar!
This is the licensing board overstepping its authority, because they don't like it. But the last thing businesses want is to get on the wrong side of the board. They can make life even more hell.
The worst that can be done is someone can be arrested under dubious statures (which will be dropped) or the bar can kick ban the person and have them arrested for trespassing for coming back.
that's it, and that's all the board should be looking for in an answer.
Disorderly conduct?
Disorderly conduct?
Why are Bar Lemmings so important?
Why is this so important? Why do we care? Why does the licensing board care? This happens maybe once a week, nobody's been hurt, etc.
Far as I can remember, nobody has accused the bars of over-serving the jumpers.
Signs are posted. If they jump, let police sort it out. Word will get around quickly enough that jumping = evening in jail.
Because without them
Nicole Murati Ferrer's phoney baloney job sounds a lot less important.
HEY!
Don't dis the hottest city official this dime-store town has.
Is there some legal requirement....
... that the Licensing Board be controlled by goofballs?
It's well known
Absolut power corrupts absolutely.
Is that what the jumper was on?
Absolut power?
Nah
The ability to license liquor distribution with an iron fist is Absolut power.
I was at the Whiskey Priest the other day
Seemed like a real dive bar.
Now see here ...
I deliberately didn't use that in the headline because I used it the last time I wrote about the Atlantic Beer Garden :-).
Oh
Slipped my mind. Water under the bridge then.
Dayum!
Licensing board was busy today, eh?
(And not even one stinkin photo?)
Not even the half of it
I didn't write about all the places that were up for having expired BFD inspection certificates because of a computer glitch or the other East Boston place with the fight or the Allston bar with the underage woman, but there's only so much one person can do.
As for photos, I think you'll just have to content yourself with the one I already posted - I didn't take any. Yeah, I'm a slug.
do they post an agenda?
I could probably go poking around myself, but if you already know, it would save everyone some time. Is there an agenda or minutes for these meetings that might list each establishment with the reason they're up? That way, we can know if our neighborhood dive bar down the street is up for something without obligating you to write about each and every thing.
Btw, these are by far my favorite topics, simply because it does show how ridiculous this whole set-up is. If more people knew about this, maybe things would change.
Licensing board agendas
A bit cumbersome to find, but here goes:
Go to http://www.cityofboston.gov/calendar/
On the left, under Type of Event, check None and then check Meeting/Hearing (otherwise, you'll have to scroll through a gazillion art exhibits and events at local libraries). Licensing Board violation hearings are on Tuesdays; when you find one, click on Boston Licensing Board - Violations and you'll normally find a link to an agenda there. They seem to post these roughly a week in advance.
Other similar hearings: Mayor's Office of Consumer Affairs, which often holds hearings on the same exact incidents as the Licensing Board (ah, Boston!) - they concentrate on the entertainment license, the licensing board on food and liquor licenses, but the same bar managers, lawyers and police officers/sgts/detectives testify at both. Phenomenal waste of time and money? You bet!
Also, for what it's worth, the Licensing Board's Wednesday hearings are for requests for new/amended food and liquor licenses. Oh, and psychics licenses (which also covers palm and tarot card readings). These hearings are always a letdown because board members never ask applicants to prove their abilities to foretell the future, only whether they plan to post their prices in a prominent location.