February 13,
2008
Jack McKay, ANC 1D
The issue before us is
this: can entertainment, including live music and dancing, be
permitted in Mount Pleasant restaurants, without significantly
degrading peace, order, and quiet in the immediate area? The Mount
Pleasant ANC has repeatedly stated that the answer is yes: the live music and live
entertainment bans currently in place can and should be terminated, and this
will not only do no harm to the neighborhood, but will benefit the neighborhood
with enhanced safety and security.
The position of
the Mount Pleasant ANC in this matter is explicit
and longstanding:
* In August, 2003, this ANC voted unanimously for an end to the live music and live entertainment bans imposed by the current so-called “voluntary agreements”.
* In July, 2006, this ANC again voted unanimously for an end to the bans.
* In June, 2007, this ANC voted unanimously to support requests by Haydee’s, Don Juan’s, and Don Jaime’s restaurants for termination of their “voluntary agreements”, specifically to permit live music and entertainment.
* And in February, 2008, just a week ago, this ANC yet again voted, unanimously, in favor of live music and live entertainment in Mount Pleasant restaurants, and called for the termination of any voluntary agreement that fails to provide for live music, live entertainment, dancing, and cover charges.
During these four and a half years, twelve different individuals have served as ANC commissioners on our six-member commission. Each and every one has voted for an end to the restrictions on live music and live entertainment in Mount Pleasant restaurants. Not one commissioner has voted to continue these restrictions.
We recognize the worry of some residents that bringing late-night live entertainment to Mount Pleasant might create a noisy and congested entertainment district, such as Adams Morgan has become, plagued with noisy crowds on the street into the small hours of the morning. The ANC is convinced that this fear is groundless, and that a neighborhood organization – a Responsible Hospitality group -- can deal effectively with any such problems, should they arise.
A problem that we face today in Mount Pleasant is precisely the opposite of that contemplated by the opponents of entertainment. Mount Pleasant Street is deserted at night. Residents complain that the Street is frightening and intimidating at night when they simply pass through the commercial area walking home from the Metro or from bus stops. Late at night, there is no traffic on the street, and there are no pedestrians on the sidewalks. If one should encounter trouble – as has happened to me, personally, on Mount Pleasant Street at midnight – there is no one around to call to for help, no one to witness an assault. A resident simply trying to get safely home on foot is alone, and very vulnerable.
If entertainment brings more people to Mount Pleasant Street late at night, then that frightening emptiness may be replaced by people going to and from restaurants. The safety and security of Mount Pleasant residents will be enhanced by bringing more people to Mount Pleasant Street late at night.
Will there be significant disturbance to nearby residents? We think not. The total capacity of Mount Pleasant restaurants is so modest that there will never be large crowds, nor heavy traffic. I believe that the reports of the ABRA investigator will bear this out. He reports “no noise”, and “no loitering”, around either Haydee’s or Don Jaime’s. He reports further that most patrons arrived on foot, either directly from nearby residences, or from public transit stops. The investigator’s reports support our belief that Mount Pleasant can have live music, live entertainment, and dancing, in our restaurants, to the benefit of the residents of Mount Pleasant, without creating noisy crowds on the street, and without bringing noisy traffic to the street.
It should be clear that the tiny bit of live music allowed by more recent versions of the current voluntary agreements, that is, a couple of hours, perhaps once a week, ending before midnight, is an absurdity. Many Mount Pleasant residents work late, and want to play late, well past midnight. That’s certainly not my lifestyle, but I don’t propose to tell other people how to live their lives. The need for people on the street, to end the truly dangerous barrenness of Mount Pleasant Street late at night, plainly requires that entertainment be continued past midnight. The resolution passed by this ANC earlier this month not only supports music past midnight, but specifies further that all time-of-day limits on live music should be ended after a one-year trial, “if there is no strong proof that there has been significant degradation of peace, order, and quiet in the area directly attributable to live music and live entertainment offerings by the licensees.” This principle is embodied in the two model voluntary agreements that this ANC offers to licensees: a “version A” which is equivalent to the Hear Mount Pleasant model, and a “version B” which omits all time-of-day limits on live music, and which places greater emphasis on the role of a Responsible Hospitality group.
The Mount Pleasant ANC strongly and unanimously supports the applications of these restaurants for entertainment endorsements, and their petitions for termination – not modification, but termination -- of their unreasonably restrictive voluntary agreements. We believe that the protest hearing today will confirm that their licenses should be renewed, the existing voluntary agreements terminated, and entertainment endorsements issued, for the benefit of the people of Mount Pleasant.