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A reason to support a casino at Suffolk Downs
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Nice
Wendy's is open till 4AM in Lynn, MA. You're just not living in the right city.
On a serious note, it's a good point. We roll up the sidewalks on everything way too early in this state. City Hall in Lynn, MA is going into a debate on rolling back the closing time from 2AM to 1AM as all surrounding suburbia has done. Terrible idea for the already struggling restaurants downtown.
All I can say is they better have shuttle buses to take us out to Suffolk Downs at 1 o'clock.
it's always a chain with bad food
I wish the Capital Diner was 24/7. That would rule. It would be like home, almost.
Hell yeah
I'm in favor of the casinos for all the reasons he mentions, and especially the 24 hour excitement factor. Friends who've come to visit us from supposedly sleepy places like the midwest are always aghast that everything closes so early here.
New England has an irrational fear of the night
It's not quite fear of the dark, but there must be a name for this phobia which usually provokes the hateful response, "Nobody has any business being out after.." WHAT!? How about, "Noboday has any business telling me when I can or can't be out or what my business is!"
People in New England complain even when a drug store wants to be open 24 hours. It's not just about drinking. It's completely irrational, especially for cities to behave that way. I grew up in the shadow of NYC (don't worry - not a sports fan), I never knew a city that slept until Boston, and now Lynn. I've been here ten years and don't stay out late nearly as often as I used to, but the longer I stay in New England the angrier I get at these so-called blue laws. I'm not entirely convinced that they'll allow this casino to run 24 hours, if we get to that stage. I have zero confidence in the region being able to develop and manage gambling properly because of the provincial and puritanical way of thinking that must come from the drinking water or something..
My Day For Counterpoint, I Guess
I seem to be arguing on a lot of topics today, so I hesitate to start another one. However...
I grew up in Dorchester in the 1960's and 70's. You wouldn't know it from seeing it today, but my neighborhood (reference recent stories concerning murders on Sanford Street - I lived around the corner) was peaceful and quiet. You could count on the fingers of one hand the number of motor vehicles that travelled down my street between 10pm and 6am. Same goes for people on foot. There was so little noise, I could hear, from my bedroom window, the trolley driver ring his bell at the crossing a quarter-mile away.
The reason for this quiet - and, I would argue, the reason for the relative lack of murders and other violent crimes - was that there was no reason for anybody to be out and about on those streets after a certain hour. The blue laws which everybody disparages actually made for a peaceful and safe neighborhood.
Since the blue laws started being rescinded, there is not a single place in this entire city where you can listen and hear... nothing. There is always noise. Believe me, please, when I tell you that it wasn't always that way. And you used to be able to look up and actually see the night sky in many more places than you can now. Too many lights at night for that these days.
Yeah, I'm starting to reach geezerhood, I guess. Too bad for me. But there is more to this than "(something in the) drinking water". Some people are desperately trying to hold onto some parts of what they consider a better way of life. As you might imagine, I find nothing wrong with that.
Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com
I have heard others make this argument
The part of your argument that perplexes me is where you seem to equate crime with late hours. All you have to do is read this web site to know that violent acts happen in broad daylight as well. I guess nobody has any business being out on the streets at 4pm, anymore?
I'm not going to dispute that peace and quiet is nice. However, I grew up in an area with five 24 hour diners and never heard a peep outside my bedroom window. Furthermore, none of these establishments required police detail and people generally behaved themselves. This is still going on in that area even now. It's not a case of nostalgia.
You have a right to your better way of life, but I take exception to anyone telling me that because of a few bad apples, decent respectful people can not enjoy themselves past the 'witching hour' without retiring to private residences.
You sure about this?
It's my impression that 30-40 years ago, Boston had more late-night businesses than it did now. There were several competing cafeteria chains such as Waldorf and Hayes-Bickford which served food late into the wee hours, if not 24 hours.
No Argument
Moon - Crime happens all the time. I'm just citing what happened with my old neighborhood. Whether or not the two (rescinding of blue laws, rise in crime) have an actual connection? I don't have proof. It's just my gut feeling.
And I certainly would never deny anyone the right to do whatever they wish within the law. I'm also not arguing for a resumption of the blue laws we no longer follow. I do think we were better off when they were in force, though.
My greater point was concerning the relative peace and quiet. I believe that's easily demonstrable.
Ron - Oh, sure, there were plenty of Waldorf's and Bickford's and whatnot about in those days. I ate at plenty of them - my favorite was the one at Park & Tremont - and I have the gastric reflux to prove it, too. But those places were downtown, mostly. I recall none in the neighborhoods of Dorchester and other outlying communities within Boston. Is my memory faulty on this?
Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com
Bickford's, Waldorf, etc.
They are before my time, but locals have told me about the Hayes-Bickford that used to be in Harvard Square, and the Waldorf that used to be in Davis Square (where Mike's Restaurant is today). So I assume they were in other 'outlying' areas as well.
Davis Square had "Kay & Chips", later "Dolly's", until a few years ago -- a restaurant that opened at 11 pm and closed at 5 am, if I recall correctly.
Diner culture
I've seen lots of wistful and nostalgic references to 24 hour diners ala Kerouac. Seems that those died out in the 50s or 60s, no?
incorrect
Twenty-Four Hour diners are alive and well in New York City, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut. They have even evolved from the "diner-car" look to larger structures, but are almost always made of pre-fabricated components from diner building companies. New Jersey has the largest amount of diners per capita. The culture is such that it supports multiple diners in a given town and people from all social classes go to them.