Lynn panel won’t budge on rollback

LYNN – Bar owners across the city were dealt what they described as a death blow Tuesday when the License Commission voted to uphold the rolled-back 1 a.m. closing time.The three-member board refused to budge despite a letter of support from Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy on behalf of the bar and restaurant proprietors, many of whom contend they are losing business or ready to shut down. Kennedy urged the board to balance the needs of bar owners with the safety of the public at large.Ward 3 Councilor Darren Cyr said statistics show that local police calls ramp up after 1 a.m., adding that 90 percent of the constituents to express opinions on the rollback favored keeping it to 1 a.m.Asserting that the rollback may have been well-intended, Councilor-at-large Stephen Duffy nonetheless charged that city licensing officials did not adequately meet with and listen to the establishment owners. “Shutting down the bad bars cast aspersions on the good ones,” he said. “They did not get a fair shake.”Duffy suggested the owners be allowed a 90-day trial period with closing time restored to 2 a.m. Ward 4 Councilor Richard Colucci agreed. “Ditto,” he said.Rafael Subero, president of the Lynn Restaurant Association and owner of the Blue Note nightclub, said his establishment is on financially shaky ground, his water already shut off for non-payment. “We can’t take it anymore,” he said, speaking for the association. “Personally, I have lost $110,000 which was my life savings.”Police Chief Kevin Coppinger came armed with crime data to illustrate his predicament amid the soured economy. Bar closings have a residual effect, he said, explaining that street fights, domestic violence and motor vehicle accidents tend to spike in the wee hours.Conceding that his crime stats were not tailored specifically to bars and restaurants, Coppinger noted that the total number of calls to police in 2006 between midnight and 3 a.m., “everything from barking dogs to homicides,” was 9,174. For the same time period in 2009, the total was 8,236.The decrease of 974 calls eased the Police Department budget and allowed cruisers to patrol neighborhoods and schoolyards instead of monitoring bar closings, he said.Police Lt. Peter Holey, shift commander from 1 a.m. to 9 a.m., concurred with the chief, saying the city is safer and quieter, the quality of life improved since the rollback.”You do have my sympathies, but what is best for the 89,000 residents of Lynn? I see no compelling reason to go back to a 2 a.m. closing, even on a trial basis,” said the License Commission chairman, Richard Coppinger, brother to the police chief.Commission member Michael Phelps said it was difficult to overlook the mayor’s words, but information provided by the police cannot be ignored.The unanimous vote that no action be taken to change the closing time was met by harsh disapproval from the bar owners who claimed they were not given opportunity to speak at the meeting.”They took one hour a day from us. If I took 365 days off a person’s pay, you would see how it affects their life,” said Jay Collins, owner of Fran’s Place.Collins said a 1 a.m. closing would be more equitable if it were implemented statewide, like the ban on smoking in public places. “What they did with cigarettes was fair, but this rollback means people will go spend their money in communities where the bars stay open longer. Why would they come to Lynn?”Rocco DiFillipo, owner of The Brickyard bar and grill, said License Commission members apparently are unaware of how the economic climate has cut into business. “People aren’t going out like they used to,” he said. “On a Wednesday night, I might have 2-3 customers. It’s not even worth turning on the air conditioning because I lose money.”Tom Dill, owner of the Lazy Dog and two other Lynn establishments, said business is down 80 percent – 50 percent due to the smoking ban and 30 percent from the rollback.Seth Albaum, a Central Square resident, said he moved to Lynn for its bud