By Karen Gadbois, The Lens staff writer |
Most of the agenda for today’s lengthy Alcohol Beverage Control Board meeting was postponed or settled beforehand.
But one high profile 7th Ward bar, having reached an agreement with the city before the meeting, stuck around to hear the decision entered into the record.
The Duck Off on A.P. Tureaud Avenue was the scene of a shooting in August, fatal to the mother of six children.
Concerned neighbors bore silent witness as city attorney Dan McNamara read the agreement that the city had reached with the bar owners.
According to their attorney, Eric Wright, the owners will immediately surrender their liquor license, but may reapply for another after they renovate and turn the nightclub into a full-service restaurant.
McNamara suggested the change would result in an establishment neighbors can live with.
Also on the agenda was the New Edition Bar and Lounge on the same block as The Duck Off.
The city’s allegations against The New Edition include “obscene, lewd, sexually indecent, immoral or improper conduct on the licensed premises.”
While there were six officers present to testify, another four did not show up, and both the city and the attorney for the bar owners agreed to wait until they could be heard.
That case has been continued till the October meeting.
The city also entered into an agreement with T.J. Quills, a popular college bar on Maple St.
The bar owner, charged with serving minors, promises to pay a $2,000 fine, better manage noise and litter and hire additional security staff.
Jerry Speir, a member of the Alcohol Beverage Control Board, questioned the size of the fine, implying that it was too low, given the gravity of the infraction.
Upon questioning by committee member Robert Jenkins, the attorney for T.J. Quills suggested there was only one incident of underage drinking, in which a 16-year-old girl was caught in the establishment. Other board members said documents they received indicated that the underage drinking was not an isolated event.