LAW DEPARTMENT HEARING OFFICER FINDS ESTABLISHMENT FAILED TO CORRECT PREVIOUS VIOLATION
May 13, 2011 –Mayor Domenic J. Sarno has denied a Sunday entertainment license for Sinners and Saints Night Club located on Bridge Street in Springfield’s downtown entertainment district, which will require the establishment to close at 11:59 p.m., on Saturday evenings. The decision follows a hearing conducted by a City Law Department Hearing Officer. Sarno is the appointing authority for city issued entertainment licenses.
The hearing followed an incident that occurred on Sunday, January 23, 2011, which necessitated a response from the Springfield Police Department to assist the establishment’s security personnel with an unruly intoxicated patron of the establishment. At the time of the incident, the establishment did not hold the required entertainment license. Additionally, as noted in the hearing officer’s decision, the applicant of the entertainment license failed to immediately appear in the City’s License Commission Office to obtain the required license until two months later, and as such, the violation could not be construed as an administrative oversight.
Mayor Domenic J. Sarno stated, “the City of Springfield has an obligation to protect the safety of our City’s residents and visitors and violations of this nature create an unnecessary demand on the Springfield Police Department which could have an adverse effect on the public safety of individuals in the City’s entertainment district.” The Hearing Officer determined that the violation required the Springfield Police Department to expend resources that would not have been necessary had the applicant complied with the law. The incident also purportedly caused a disturbance of approximately 25-30 onlookers and a traffic back-up on Bridge Street. “The City has a compelling reason for denying the entertainment license. The onlookers and traffic back-up could have restricted the access of emergency response vehicles if a response was necessary to this area,” added Sarno. “The City will not allow public safety to be compromised because of this type of nonsense.”
A Hearing Officer also recently heard a violation regarding Center Stage and that decision is expected to be released in the near future.