[Mintwood-place] More Police at Late Night Bar Hours
Jim Graham
grahamwone at gmail.com
Fri Feb 29 06:45:14 PST 2008
Thanks. And you might also have mentioned the auditors that my committee
funded in order to make sure ABRA was properly monitoring these
requirements...Bests Jim
_____
From: Delaney, Maria (ABRA) [mailto:maria.delaney at dc.gov]
Sent: Friday, February 29, 2008 9:43 AM
To: Jim Graham; Philip Holland
Cc: mintwood-place at lists.mutualaid.org; smd1C02 at yahoogroups.com;
smd1C04 at yahoogroups.com; MPD-3d at yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: [Mintwood-place] More Police at Late Night Bar Hours
Dear Mr. Holland:
ABRA is indeed enforcing ABC laws. There are several cases that have gone
before the Board and continue to go before the Board based on violations of
the Voluntary Agreement. In addition, other violations such as sale to
minors, sales to intoxicated person, overcrowding, and the definition of
restaurants i.e., kitchens must remain open at least 2 hours prior to
closing and alcoholic beverages leaving the establishments are also before
the ABC Board. ABRA can not enforce the food to alcoholic beverage ratio
until after April, 2008 when the law is in effect. If there is a particular
establishment that you feel is violating the laws please e-mail or call me.
Maria
Maria M. Delaney
Director
Government of the District of Columbia
Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration
941 North Capitol Street, N. E., Suite 7200
Washington, D.C. 20002
Phone: (202) 442-4353
FAX: (202) 727-4052
Email: maria.delaney at dc.gov
_____
From: Jim Graham [mailto:grahamwone at gmail.com]
Sent: Friday, February 29, 2008 9:27 AM
To: 'Philip Holland'; Delaney, Maria (ABRA)
Cc: mintwood-place at lists.mutualaid.org; smd1C02 at yahoogroups.com;
smd1C04 at yahoogroups.com; MPD-3d at yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: [Mintwood-place] More Police at Late Night Bar Hours
You were provided, at least in part with some very bad information. The food
requirements in the bars are very much the subject of enforcement. I am
asking ABRA admin Delaney to provide you with the details. I support the
extension of the moratorium assuming that there is sufficient community
support,. I am sure there will be. Bests Jim
_____
From: Philip Holland [mailto:philip.holland at verizon.net]
Sent: Thursday, February 28, 2008 11:05 AM
To: 'Jim Graham'
Cc: mintwood-place at lists.mutualaid.org; smd1C02 at yahoogroups.com;
smd1C04 at yahoogroups.com; MPD-3d at yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: [Mintwood-place] More Police at Late Night Bar Hours
Council Member Graham,
I attended the last ANC 1C committee meeting on ABC/MPD issues, where we
were discussing the upcoming expiration of the moratorium you mention.
Your assistant can attest to the fact that many people there were, what I
would be described as, "not upset, but angry" at the current situation.
We learned that nobody (police or fire Marshall or ABC) is enforcing
occupancy restrictions.
No organization is enforcing food sales ratios to the sale of alcohol.
Fights on the street are a regular occurrence and nobody is arrested because
MPD doesn't want to remove officers form the street to process the fighters
as that would leave the street uncovered, consequently no report of a crime
is recorded.
Our police district, your ward, has the second highest crime rate in the
city.
And now the moratorium is about to expire and we may allow more
establishments into the neighborhood.
This will mean that more people than the estimated 7000 people, who
currently come into Adams Morgan on a Friday or Saturday night, will be
policed by 9 officers.
Would you mind sharing with us, you position on the moratorium?
Thank you,
Phil Holland
-----Original Message-----
From: mintwood-place-bounces at lists.mutualaid.org
[mailto:mintwood-place-bounces at lists.mutualaid.org] On Behalf Of Jim Graham
Sent: Thursday, February 28, 2008 8:58 AM
To: 'Jim Graham'; 'Matt Forman'; mintwood-place at lists.mutualaid.org
Subject: Re: [Mintwood-place] More Police at Late Night Bar Hours
I just realized the need for a clarification. The charge for ALL cost
reimbursable officers under the MPD program is $56 an hour. Businesses other
than alcohol licensees may hire off duty police officers outside that
program, and typically pay about one half that amount. But if ANY business
goes through the MPD cost reimbursable program it is the higher rate due to
administrative costs &c. By MPD policy--which they have steadfastly refused
to change-- alcohol licensees CANNOT hire off duty police officers in
DC...thus those lower rates cannot be obtained. We will be putting out a
clarification on this today.
_____
From: Jim Graham [mailto:grahamwone at gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, February 28, 2008 7:56 AM
To: 'Matt Forman'; 'mintwood-place at lists.mutualaid.org'
Cc: 'Cy'
Subject: RE: [Mintwood-place] More Police at Late Night Bar Hours
Thanks. I will get that response from the chief. I am puzzled by your
comment that A-M does not limit the number of bar &c. We have a moratorium
on new licenses, and a specific limit on the number of transfers to taverns,
in place, as you know...so you will have to clarify that point.
_____
From: Matt Forman [mailto:Matthew.Forman2 at verizon.net]
Sent: Wednesday, February 27, 2008 11:51 PM
To: Jim Graham; mintwood-place at lists.mutualaid.org
Subject: Re: [Mintwood-place] More Police at Late Night Bar Hours
Jim, I would be grateful if you could clarify your posting. As you note,
MPD charges twice the hourly rate to patrol alcohol establishments than
non-alcohol serving ones. The legislation would provide a 50% subsidy for
bars or BIDs to hire the officers. In other words, by no small coincidence,
I suspect, the net effect of the subsidy is reduce the hourly rate by the
exact amount needed to bring it equal to the non-alcohol rate. If so, then
why go to all the trouble of setting up an elaborate bureaucracy to have one
city agency (ABRA) pay grant funds to another agency (MPD) when MPD could
have simply lowered the rate to produce the same result?
I'm curious as to why MPD charges twice the rate for alcohol-serving
establishments. It sounds like hazard-duty pay. Apparently, MPD believes
that alcohol-serving establishments are inherently more dangerous and
therefore it charges more to guard them. MPD informed us at a recent ANC
public safety meeting that the concentration of bars greatly drains 3rd
District resources that could otherwise be spent protecting citizens. You
also acknowledge in your posting the violent the violent crimes in and
around bars. It seems to me that the remedy for any inherently dangerous
activity would be to limit that activity, not to let it go unfettered and
spend a lot of resources in a futile attempt to control it. We must start
reducing the over-concentration of bars in Adams Morgan. Georgetown,
Dupont, Cleveland Park, Woodley Park, and several other neighborhoods have
limits on the number of alcohol licenses, but Adams Morgan oddly does not,
and the effects are obvious. Therefore, I would request your support for
strengthening of the liquor license moratorium to one that would reduce the
number of licensed establishments, over time, to a more manageable number.
----- Original Message -----
From: Jim Graham <mailto:grahamwone at gmail.com>
To: mintwood-place at lists.mutualaid.org
Sent: Wednesday, February 27, 2008 3:00 PM
Subject: [Mintwood-place] More Police at Late Night Bar Hours
Dear Friends:
The ABC Board and MPD have taken the final steps to implement a program to
fund the deployment of more police officers to protect the public outside
bars at late night hours. The ABC Board announced the start of a subsidy
program this week to encourage the use of these officers.
I authored $1 million in the 2008 budget to fund the police reimbursable
detail subsidy program. As a result, the ABC Board will now provide up to a
50% subsidy for the use of police officers outside bars at closing times.
Rules have been established for this program's operation.
In 2005, after various violent crimes in and around bars, I had authored the
initial law to allow alcohol licensees to pay MPD to deploy officers outside
bars. That law allows bars, independently or in a group, to pay for these
officers through MPD. The officers are not stationed inside the bars. They
are stationed outside in the public area.
However, these officers are expensive. The hourly rates are almost twice
(about $56 per hour) what an officer makes patrolling establishments that
don't sell alcohol.
The subsidy program will encourage the hire of officers by reducing these
costs. As a result of the program, more officers can be deployed in Adams
Morgan, U Street, or other DC entertainment areas to protect the public
outside bars during late night hours.
Bars or BIDS do not directly hire the officers. Instead the hiring is done
through MPD. The officers (who would otherwise be off duty) have full
police powers and are focused on the entertainment area needs. The Adams
Morgan Business Improvement District has been using reimbursable details
successfully.
Please let me know if you have questions or concerns. Bests, Councilmember
Jim Graham
--
I typically answer emails before 9 AM on weekdays. If you email me after
that, it is likely that you will hear from me the next weekday. If there is
a need to communicate prior to that, you may wish to call me.
Jim Graham, Councilmember, Ward One, 1350 Pa. Ave., NW, #105, Washington, DC
20004. 202-724-8181; 202-724-8109 (fax).
Chairman, Committee on Public Works and the Environment (including alcohol
regulation). Main Committee Number: 202-724-8195. 1350 Pa. Ave., NW, #116,
Washington, DC 20004.
Website: www.grahamwone.com
_____
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