Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Concerns over violence among youth at "co-mingling" events across the City of Buffalo have led to some action taken by some leaders to try and curb these incidents going forward.
It was last week Thursday that saw the Erie County Legislature pass a resolution asking the Buffalo Common Council to deny applications for co-mingling events in the city. In addition, other leaders across the city have voiced their opinions and concerns with these events, saying people under the age of 21 should not be allowed in bars and other establishments with adults of legal drinking age.
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When it comes to hosting these co-mingling events in the City of Buffalo, businesses, like those on W. Chippewa Street, want the entertainment district and the rest of downtown to be safe for everyone.
"Prior to the recent ordinance by the city, Thursday night was a night that was an 18-and-over night on Chippewa, and you did not need a permit or any additional city approval to have an 18-and-over event there. For, literally, decades, Bottoms Up has been running these events there, as many other bars have," said Attorney Jacob Piorokowski from The Tarantino Law Firm, representing both Bottoms Up and VENU. "When the ordinance came out to ask for permitting, both of my clients submitted permits for their college nights, which would take them from April, May and June of this year. One set of the nights was primarily Thursdays, the other was primarily Fridays that they were looking to do these events. They've complied with the city's request, and then sort of unexpectedly, because we had done what the city had asked, there was a lot of pushback and a lot of opposition from various parts of the city to these these applications that we submitted."
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What's troubles Piorokowski, from his perspective as an attorney, is the amount of amorphous claims of violence and problems that have occurred on Chippewa directly relate to the bars themselves. However, he has not heard anyone specifically point out any incident or troubles that relate to not only his clients' bars, but any bar along Chippewa.
"I haven't heard anyone specifically cite an incident. What I've heard is the recent tragedy at Club Marcella, which is not on Chippewa and has nothing to do with the Chippewa scene, and the incidents at the [Central] Library, where I guess there was repeated incidents of high school kids getting into trouble around 3 o'clock when school lets out at the library. I haven't heard anyone say this specific incident is the problem on Chippewa, and this is why we need to limit these co-mingling events," Piorokowski stated.
"The concern, for me, is we've done exactly what the city has asked us to do, and the city, to their credit, has been very accommodating. We've had numerous meetings, they've listened to our position. I think they've been very fair in dealing with this, and I think that's critical here, because I think they often get a bad rap with these kinds of things undeservedly, and they're trying to balance everyone's interests. But I think where I struggle is that no one has said that either of my clients' bars are specifically the root or a contributor to the problems that are being complained of."
Ahead of Tuesday's Buffalo Common Council meeting at City Hall, Piorokowski was on-hand with Chippewa business owners and other representatives from the Chippewa Alliance to discuss the growing concerns of the public regarding co-mingling events. He says the meeting was quite productive, and resulted in the businesses being allowed to continue with their events in April with one condition.
"The proposal was we had asked for dates in April, May and June, and the big concern that I kept hearing was that these various groups wanted to have a trial run. Let's see if this works," Piorokowski said. "What we proposed was if the city could grant our April dates - there's four dates in April: Two for Bottoms Up and two for VENU, two events at each place for the remainder of the month - let's use that as a trial run. If there's problems, we'll re-evaluate. And that was granted at the Common Council meeting yesterday. So we do have permission to operate these events for the rest of the month, and I think that's a fair compromise, at this point."
While both Chippewa businesses were granted the co-mingling events for the month of April, Piorokowski says they're still in a little bit of a limbo with regards to their event requests for May and June. However, he's confident his clients will do a great job with these events.
"They're very conscientious of security, they're very conscientious of the various rules that the city has in place and that the State Liquor Authority has in place. They do a good job, and I'm quite confident that this will work out," Piorokowski said. "Hopefully it leads to an easier path to get these approved in the future."
As both VENU and Bottoms Up prepare for the upcoming trial run in April with these co-mingling events, it continues to remain in the back of everyone's heads with the possibility of their requests for May and June to be denied. If these events are not allowed, or even eliminated to a greater extent, Piorokowski feels it would have a significant effect on business that has held these 18-plus events for several years.
Where Piorokowski and others sense the true problems stem from on Chippewa are from people who come downtown not to patronize the bars and clubs, but to hang out and be on the scene. For Piorokowski, that's more so a loitering problem, and not a co-mingling problem
"I've heard that repeatedly from clients, from people in the community. My office is on Main and Chippewa, I mean, we're right in the mix of this, and that seems to be maybe a more consistent problem is people come down there with no direction and nothing to do other than to try to sort of throw their own party, maybe in a parking lot," Piorokowski said. "My understanding is the city has done a really great job in stopping that activity, I guess it was quite a problem last summer. So I'm hopeful this will just go smooth. It's been going on for decades, and I'm just sort of confused as to why my clients are the specific targets of all of this pushback. But I'm glad where the city went with this, and I'm glad they can operate their business for the rest of the month. I'm hopeful that we can just get on a more normal path without so much controversy and discussion over this."
Piorokowski says it will be venue specific with how they enforce measures for allowing people under 21 into these businesses, whether it is for a co-mingling event or another large gathering like a concert or dance night. As a lawyer representing VENU, Bottoms Up and a number of other businesses across the city, Piorokowski says the No. 1 concern on their minds is the safety of their patrons.
"Nobody wants to run a place that's dangerous. That's no one's objective," he said. "I think so long as the bars are on board with that, the city is aware of what's going on and there's communication between the bar owners and the city, I think this whole thing works. In any bar district in any city, there's the propensity for problems. There's alcohol, it's late night, that can occur. But I think the more communication there is and the more transparency, the better this whole scene works and the safer it is. And as a result, downtown gets to continue to grow, because people aren't going to come to a place that's not safe. So I don't think there's anyone in here whose primary focus is not the safety of the district and of their patrons."
As for the future of co-mingling events past this spring, Piorokowski still believes they can work in the City of Buffalo simply because they have worked so many times in the past.
"This is not a new method of operation for Chippewa. This isn't some new idea that's being put out there. The new idea is these permits being in place," Piorokowski said. "We filed for the permits, we're giving the city notice, and if there's something they require from us, I can tell you my clients will be the first ones to raise their hand and comply. Both of these bars have been in the Chippewa scene for a long time, and they want to see it continue to flourish. So whatever needs to be done between the city and the business owners, I think it's critical there's communication and transparency, and that everyone's sort of working toward the same goal, which is to have an entertainment district that's thriving, that's vibrant, and that's safe."