Steve Thurston (2021)
The Night Owl bar on Maple Avenue, near Caroline Street, closes doors at about 1 a.m. and clears the bar at 2.
Saratoga Springs Mayor Meg Kelly proposed a resolution last week to change closing time in bars from 4 a.m. to 2 a.m. The City Council passed it unanimously, and so it goes to the county for their consideration. The city alone cannot change closing time; the change must be made countywide.
That is a months-long process, and the mayor, looking for a fix to the spate of late night fights and altercations, especially in the area of Caroline Street downtown, is turning to the local leaders and bar owners for help in the short term, she said in an interview last night.
She said that she is afraid if nothing is done to stem the illegal activity during the wee hours of the morning, the city’s reputation as a friendly place to visit will disappear, more quickly than some realize, she said.
"We have to do something," she said. "We sound like our parents, but nothing good happens after 2 a.m."
[Police Lt. Robert Jillson wrote this morning that the latest fight took place on Caroline Street Tuesday morning at about 2:30 a.m. The victim was cut with a knife and is being treated at Albany Medical Center. Police are investigating.]
Kelly she is meeting with local leaders, hoping to create a plan to encourage bars to close earlier on their own.
"I'm hoping to work with the bars and the downtown to maybe come to some voluntary resolution,” the mayor said last night.
Todd Shimkus, the president of the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce, said he met with Mayor Kelly Tuesday morning and will be reaching out to bar owners. He is looking for their thoughts on closing early or working toward other solutions. He said he had not heard any feedback yet from bars on the matter.
Both he and Kelly realize that bars may lose money in those final two hours of operation, but Kelly said she fears that businesses might close completely if the the violence continues.
Some bars, such as the Night Owl on Maple Avenue a half-block from Caroline Street, are limiting access to the bar before closing time.
"With what we're seeing, we're trying to do our part," said Alex Straus, co-owner of the bar. "We see it as our duty not to try to profit in these late hours off people who are highly intoxicated."
He said they limit entrance to the bar at about 1 a.m. and close at 2. He said that letting in late-night stragglers from a cost-benefit perspective “is not worth the trouble.”
Still, he said, he is not looking to have the hours change permanently given that this summer may just be a blip. Instead, his establishment is making small sacrifices now in response to the city’s call for help.
The resolution is not on the county's agenda yet, said Saratoga Springs Supervisor Tara Gaston. The county would hold public hearings on this issue and would bring its decision to the state liquor authority.
"It's going to be difficult. It's been to the board before and hasn't been successful," she said,
Still Gaston said she wants to see the data and whether the hours are the issue or if there is another problem that might not have been considered.
Commissioner of Public Safety Robin Dalton said just before the vote that the data clearly shows the problems of late night drinking. In a text she said it can be found in the semi-weekly reports published by the police.