Fear of Fines Forces Local Bars to Tighten Up

Prohibition might have died in the 1920s, but the war on booze is still on. According to local bartenders, new legislation and increased police vigilance have made this year one of the toughest for students looking to get a drink.

The threat of fines and tickets by the police is one reason why neighborhood bartenders and bars are more on guard these days. If they are caught serving underage drinkers, both the establishment and the bartender doing the serving can be fined hundreds of dollars.

"Tickets add up-it has had an effect [on my vigilance]" said Ray, a seven-year bartending veteran at 1020.

New laws have also brought on an increased police presence in the Morningside neighborhood, bartenders say.

"The police have definitely been more visible lately," said JJ, a bartender at Lion's Head. Ray agreed. "The police have been here more times in the last couple months than the last couple years," he said.

Due to the increased police presence, more fake IDs have been confiscated and more people refused entry from bars since the beginning of fall semester. According to Mike, co-owner of O'Connells, the bar has "turned away a lot more [students]" in the past few months.

Students seems to have noticed the difference. In an informal Spectator survey of 49 sophomores, juniors, and seniors, 31 said that area bars are more strict now as compared to their freshman year when it comes to letting in people with fake IDs.

"I feel like they [bars] might be more strict. I imagine it makes the crowd an older crowd, a grad school crowd, law school, med school, business school crowd," Brian Jump, CC '07, said.

But neighborhood bars are still full, and profits have not fallen. Several bartenders believe this is because the most valuable customers from Columbia are the groups of seniors and grad students who visit the same bars consistently. Mike says his best business comes from such "regulars" and not from underage students who try to slip in on weekends sporadically.

In spite of this, judging the IDs of the underage crowd is a constant struggle in Morningside Heights.

"I guarantee there's always someone in here underage. [Fake] IDs are just too good," said Mike.

"New York City is especially hard [to detect fake IDs], because of all the out-of-towners and foreigners," said JJ.

City law stipulates that anyone "reasonably appearing" under age 30 must present a valid ID to be served.

Recent legislation from the city and state legislatures have tightened the regulations surrounding bouncers and their role in controlling the night life. State legislation requiring bouncers to undergo a certification and registration program was buttressed by City Council Bill 366-A, which was passed in August of last year. The bill places sharp penalties on establishments that do not have properly licensed bouncers on the premises. It also restructures penalties for establishments that allow underage drinking, including the revocation of liquor licenses.

Another city law, Bill 440, was passed in March. It created a new system for monitoring and penalizing establishments that have repeatedly violated the stipulations of their licensing agreement. Although it has not gone into effect yet, another law would require "dance halls and cabarets" to have video surveillance at all entrances and exits.

The bulk of such legislation was passed in the wake of the murder of Imette St. Guillen by a bouncer at the Falls nightclub a year ago, and the rape and murder of 18-year-old Jennifer Moore after she left Guest House, a club in Chelsea, last July.

Many neighborhood bartenders have expressed confusion over the new laws, most of which apply to "certain places of public assembly." According to local bartenders, the definition has remained unclear, and city government agencies have provided inconsistent means of classification.

Many bar owners are unsure if the terminology depends on capacity, services offered, or type of facility. "I really don't know if we fit into that [one of the definitions]," said JJ.

Several seniors noted the change in the bar scene from their freshman to senior year, noting that in addition to becoming stricter about carding, the atmosphere in many bars had become more upscale.

"When we were freshmen we went to the West End, but it's changed, it's really swanky now," Jump said.

In Spectator's survey, 22 students said they had noticed an increase in prices at bars since their freshman year. Only six said the bar scene was better overall.

"[Students] go midtown, or downtown. There's no place around here," said Madeeha Khan, BC '07.

Tanveer Ali and Sara Maria Hasbun contributed to this article.