Published: August 15, 2008 11:27 pm            

OUR VIEW: Second SLA decision worse than the first

When we reported the rather obvious hypocrisy in the New York state Liquor Authority’s decisions on alcohol permits and underage drinking, we didn’t exactly have this in mind.

Some background, if you haven’t been following the story: The two free concert series at Gateway Harbor Park in North Tonawanda were both caught by police selling alcohol to minors during separate undercover stings. Initially, only the Saturday night concerts saw their liquor permit revoked for the offense.

After the Tonawanda News reported on a second sting that took place a month prior that ensnared the free concerts run by different promoters on Wednesday and Friday nights, the Liquor Authority initially did nothing. A week after our story ran, they announced that the liquor permit for those concerts, held by the Knights of Columbus, was being revoked.

Are we to assume this was a coincidence?

That is took a newspaper’s reporting of an incident to prompt action only serves to underscore just how arbitrary these decisions are.

For the record, we strongly disagree with both decisions by the SLA and regret the impact our story had on the Knights of Columbus. The point was to expose the state’s hypocrisy in its first decision, not taddle for the second.

The SLA, explaining the delay on the knights’ permit, says it didn’t find the notification of the underage drinking citations for the Knights of Columbus from NT police until Aug. 8. Hogwash. NT police say they notified the state more than a month prior to that date, just after the arrests were made.

SLA officials pulled one permit, and only after their hypocrisy was exposed, did they pull the second — while simultaneously wiping the egg off their face.

Furthermore, we’ve learned of the inherently subjective way the SLA makes these decisions. Apparently, three men in a room (a familiar theme in New York government) meet every two weeks, review alcohol sales violations and decide the fate of the permit or license holder. Minimal due process. No explanation to the public — at least as yet.

This “Wizard of Oz” routine is ridiculous and in desperate need of reform.

Both concert series represent no threat to public health and safety — the SLA’s professed first priority. A trip to one of them would prove this. Heck, a phone call to North Tonawanda police would do the trick. The Saturday night shows have been peaceful and a boon to local business. The Knights of Columbus has had but one underage drinking infraction prior to this in more than five decades of beer sales at its hall.

The Saturday night concerts are gone. The knights stand poised to have not just their Gateway permit squashed, but even the hall’s permanent license.

So the question is now what? We’ve worked diligently to expose this hypocrisy. It’s time for local elected officials to intervene on behalf of two institutions in the Twin Cities and right a wrong.

We’ll see if it happens.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.