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Why shouldn't well heeled businesspeople be able to relax outside and watch the Kentucky Derby on TV?
By adamg on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 5:49pm
Boston Licensing Director Patricia Malone says she faces a thorny question: Whether to let an upscale waterfront steakhouse turn the sound on on televisions mounted on its outdoor patio.
Smith and Wollensky, on Congress Street on Fort Point Channel, has probationary permission to turn TVs on the patio on - but only with the sound off. Now it wants to be able to turn the sound on, for both select TV shows and for background music.
At a hearing this morning, restaurant attorney Dennis Quilty said the patio is essentially enclosed by the restaurant, that the sound would not affect anybody nearby and that the restaurant's clientele is just more sedate than at your basic Fenway Park area sports bar. He said restaurant goers the other day would have appreciated being able to hear reports of the president's surprise visit to Afghanistan - and gave the Kentucky Derby as an example of an event for which the eatery's genteel clientele would be given the chance to listen in.
But Malone, who said she has long been vexed by the issue of speakers on outdoor patios, said she has to consider the entire city when making decisions and that she's worried that if she allows sound at the Atlantic Wharf restaurant, she'd be pressured to allow speakers at other establishments that might not have the same gentle touch as Smith and Wollensky.
Malone also expressed concern that the request before her called for the outdoor speakers to run as late as 2 a.m. Restaurant officials, however, said they rarely stay open that late and that they'd be willing to consider a much earlier shut-off time for outdoor speakers, such as 10 p.m.
Malone took no action pending a formal request from the restaurant for earlier speaker hours.
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Comments
Business people you say?
Something tells me they are capable of reading subtitles and most likely own a good pair of glasses, if needed.
Have you ever read the closed
Have you ever read the closed captioning for a live event before?
If coors I have
Their is nothing rung with the captioning of live evens. Yore crazy.
C?
It werks phine.
Kentucky Derby
Patricia Malone should have been a Nun instead of Boston Licensing Director. She has No clue what should be allowed at a resonable hour. I'm sure she thinks that Once the street lights turn on everyone should go inside in the City of Boston. Look across from Smith @ Wollensky there is the Federal Reserve Bank. I don't think the volume of a couple of t.v's will penetrate the building. And oh the other side of the building the water? This City will never be a World Class City as long as people like Patricia Malone have the so called authority as per the Mayor of Boston.
Seriously..
Not a tough call. Isn't this why you have a waterfront district? Isn't part of the point to keep dining and entertainment options in a nonresidential neighborhood where they can thrive?
Why not create districts where this kind of thing is allowed? Set the waterfront and seaport as one, set a one-block radius of Fenway as another and so on. They're worried about outdoor TVs for other events? New England will take care of that. Try watching the World Series or Super Bowl outside here. Won't happen.
But the America's Cup or an NBA Championship or Stanley Cup final where the locals are playing? The World Cup, FA Cup or Champions league? Why not? Forget about "World Class," this is just a downright hayseed move by the city. When did Boston land in the bible belt? When did absolute silence become the goal for a thriving city? I won't even compare this to New York, Chicago or San Francisco. That would just be fruitless. Philly, Seattle, Portland and Austin seem like poor comparisons, too.
Let's go with Jersey City, Hoboken, Wilmington, Rochester, N.Y., or Bend, Ore. All second-class cities, all firmly in the shadow of another town and all with aspirations for better. Boston scoffs at all of them, but NONE of them would pull this Mother Superior nonsense.
Let bars show the Derby. As Will says, it's at 6:30 in the frickin' p.m. and it lasts about 30 minutes. The Boston Licensing Commission should be bringing more business to the city, not sending potential business running for the nearest town that isn't so high strung.
Apparently, I'm going to have to trek all the way to Cape Ann Brewing to spend a day on the water watching the Derby. Thanks Boston!
P.S. Do the hotel bars along the Charles in Cambridge have to put up with these kind of restrictions?
Special Events Yes, Constant Music?
No - unless there is a pre-set decibel level at the property line checked by staff. That bit of waterfront is a heavily used public area for recreation. An occasional special event isn't a problem - but they can't gripe if people walk over to watch from the rope line, either.
The places with music blaring at lawn blower levels of noise are stressful annoyance when walking in areas along the water (like whatever it is in the courthouse that seems intent on driving away potential patrons! Yikes!). Continuous soft hits on the head from the late 70s!!!!!! at 90dB!!!!!!!!
The volume needs to be managed at sane levels for employees and patrons and passers-by alike. I swear that most restaurant workers are now so effin deaf from years of blaring music that they can't hear it unless it is at earbleeding levels - make them measure how loud it really is if they are going to play it outside their establishment.
It's a high end steakhouse...
They aren't going to be blaring music. They want to put the volume on for a big sporting event. Hell, they should be allowed to do this every night for Sox games, or for anything they patrons at the bar want to listen to. It's a big waterfront, if people don't want to hear a little background noice while they stare at.....an inlet(?), they can move 100ft down the walk. There really shouldn't even be a rule about this...if they do happen to blast music, they can be issued a noise complaint, but to have to appear before the board....more $ for Quilty and sons.
"Moderate" volume
Is how they put it. Also, Quilty argued that, unlike at your typical sports bar, the clientele doesn't get loud, so patrons would actually be able to hear the reporter at Bagram Air Base or the Kentucky Derby without turning the volume all the way up.
Funny...
I didn't even bother to go back and read the article to see if Quilty was actually representing them. A safe assumption and they really are the only people that benefit from all these ridiculous board meetings. Well, that and the board members.
As far as S&W, there is NOTHING around there other than 2-3 benches. They have two TV's at the outdoor bar....they'd have to be on full volume for anyone more than 20 feet away to even hear them...and I HIGHLY doubt anyone who would sit on that bench would think to themselves "ugh, this would be really pretty and relaxing if it wasn't for that awful tv volume". Is noise along the waterfront really that big of a problem? What are these places who don't know how to monitor their music volume? There are exactly two bars that face the water, the Intercontinental and S&W. I've never heard anyone complain about either.
Yes, I know
And there are other "high end" businesses on the waterfront who have no idea how loud their idea of "background music" is.
I'm not saying they shouldn't be able to play music at moderate levels - my point is that "moderate" should be clearly and specifically defined as a noise limit at the property boundary, and they should be required to purchase a decibel meter and use it.
None of which is onerous.
Not fair to nuns....
... most of those around today are probably far more reasonable (and fun loving).
Couldn't agree more...
Patricia Malone is in a class all by herself-watching her in action is a classic study of narcissism of the worst kind.
(1) Exploitativeness/Entitlement-I insist upon getting the respect that is due to me;
(2) Leadership/Authority-I like to be the center of attention;
(3) Superiority/Arrogance-I am better than others; and
(4) Self-absorption/Self-admiration-I am preoccupied with how extraordinary and special I am.
Optimism is healthy. Arrogance is not.
Self-confidence is healthy. Megalomania is not.
Believing that you can do a great job is healthy. Thinking that you know better than others is not.
You need confidence and conviction to succeed in life, but Patricia’s actions clearly show that she is killing this City.
As an avid horse racing fan
Let people watch the (expletive) Derby. They run it at 6:25 P.M. Christ.