It’s rare when the aggrieved get to look their perceived tormentors in the eye and make them answer for their actions.
That’s what happened at Wednesday’s liquor license hearing in Morristown.
Residents who pay a lot of taxes to live in nice neighborhoods told members of a prominent bar-owning family–and the town officials who approve and regulate their establishments–that enough is enough.
They are tired of spending sleepless weekends on the phone complaining to police about drunks who shout, urinate and litter outside their windows.
They are tired of being prisoners in their own homes, afraid to walk or drive on local streets on balmy summer nights.
They are tired of early morning trash pickups that rouse them from slumber with the clank of beer bottles.
They are tired of bar owners who point fingers at each other and shrug their shoulders.
These videos should be required viewing in urban planning classes. This is what happens when you shoehorn competing interests into small spaces.
BAR WARS: THE NEIGHBORHOOD STRIKES BACK
Video highlights from testimony
Thriving businesses are crucial to Morristown’s vitality. People move to places like 40 Park, the Vail Mansion, Community Place and Georgetowne for their proximity to downtown. Bars and nightclubs are part of the mix.
But they differ from other businesses in one important respect. Their product is a controlled substance: Alcohol. It is controlled because it is dangerous when misused.
And it’s being misused on a large scale, according to these residents who say they deal with the aftermath almost every single weekend.
“Morristown has become . . . a drinking destination,” testified Morristown mom Tricia Rosenkilde, whose family is considering leaving town after eight years of aggravation that she fears will only get worse if a bowling alley/ bar is approved for DeHart Street.
Tricia and her neighbors had better places to be on a Wednesday night in June. It takes courage to confront an industry with deep pockets. Or lots of pent-up anger. Some residents even hired a lawyer, to make sure their voices are heard.
The exercise served several useful purposes:
- Billy Walsh, one of the DeHart Street applicants and a member of a family operating three (and soon, four) bars in town, acknowledged under oath that bars are causing problems and said they should be addressed collectively by the bars, at the bars’ expense.
- The applicants reiterated their desire to donate a stately house at 10 DeHart St. to a nonprofit.
- Residents asked good questions–like how the Iron Bar, with a capacity of more than 700, skated through without any of the conditions imposed earlier that evening on Futbol-Landia, an Early Street sports bar proposed by Billy’s father, William Walsh.
- Along those lines, resident Christine Conti-Collins urged the council to apply the same standards to all bars.
- Solid citizens put town officials and bar owners on notice that they won’t be ignored.
On June 26, all 21 liquor licenses in Morristown are up for renewal by the town council. These renewals are virtually automatic unless the council receives written complaints from the public.
When the DeHart Street hearing resumes on July 18, supporters of the proposed bowling/bar will have their say. Wonder how many of them live in the neighborhood?
The applicants don’t.
DISCLOSURE: The writer lives in downtown Morristown.
PLAYLISTS OF VIDEO TESTIMONY:
Ed F & Jeff R.
There are many ways a town can grow. We don’t need a bar every 20 ft and certainly not in the heart of the downtown.
I’m sure people moved in downtown thinking there would be some night life, but what these residents are describing is out of control. Morristown can still be a fun and lively town without turning into Hoboken.
Morristown is like NYC , it has a lot of features,,,,,,THERE IS SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE….
When these idiots bought their condo’s at 40 West, didn’t they walk around and see the neighborhood they were moving in to? It’s like taking a job and 3 months later complaining about the starting pay. You CHOSE to move there. You KNEW what you were getting into. Now live with it or get the heck out.
I couldn’t disagree more with the comment above. Enough of this frat-boy mentality. 21 liquor licenses for this town is ridiculous. Morristown will lose downtown residents if this continues. More high-end townhomes are being built. With the reputation of Morristown at stake its time to confront this issue. The bar owners are only interested in the ring of their cash registers. It’s the taxpayer who matters.
Morristown is a growing town.. you move IN to a town you know what you are getting in to… don’t stop the town from growing. Maybe it’s time you move.