Lynn bars want another shot at 2 a.m.

LYNN – Eight years after voting to roll back liquor-serving establishment closing times to 1 a.m., the city Licensing Board meets on July 28 to consider returning to a 2 a.m. closing.The hearing will be held in Veterans Memorial Auditorium in City Hall in response to a request to the board from the Lynn Restaurant Association. Licensing clerk Debra Ginivan said an informational notice on the hearing will be mailed out to establishment owners next week.None of the current board members – chairwoman Patricia Barton, Miguel Funez and John Krol – were on the board when members voted in December 2007 to roll back closing times from 2 a.m. to 1 a.m.Police and neighborhood residents supported the rollback – along with former Mayor Edward J. Clancy Jr. – and linked late-night crime to liquor-serving establishments. Bar owners opposed the rollback and fought it in court, pointing out the negative economic impact they faced with a rollback.Funez said he will weigh police concerns about reversing the rollback on July 28 against what he described as efforts during the past eight years to discipline businesses that are the subject of violations brought to the board?s attention.?We have to look at every side and see what can be done,” Funez said.Ginivan said the city has 45 bars and restaurants with all-alcohol licenses; 11 all-alcohol clubs and six restaurants licensed to serve wine and beer.Barton said the Restaurant Association members? “view is that they are hurting financially” by a 1 a.m. closing time. She said she frequently speaks with police officers who tell her the crime-reduction benefits associated with the earlier closing time.Police Chief Kevin Coppinger said he is compiling statistics on late-night crimes in preparation for the hearing. Coppinger said he responded to a 2010 bid to reverse the rollback by presenting statistics showing a 1 a.m. closing time resulted in “a dramatic reduction” in motor vehicle accidents, fights and domestic abuse reports. “It?s really reduced quality-of-life and criminal incidents,” he said.He said he will urge board members to “look at the big picture” in considering a return to a 2 a.m. closing. Coppinger said even with a 1 a.m. closing, police have responded to local eateries open after midnight that attract intoxicated customers.Attempts to reach Krol and association members Jay Collins and Tom Dill were unsuccessful.