Deputy Inspector James McCarthy of the Ninth Precinct warned bar owners at a June 15 meeting that the precinct would target premises suspected of illegal sales to underage patrons.
Complaints from neighbors about noisy bars will also get precinct scrutiny, McCarthy said.
Bars that ignore complaints about noise and the sale of alcohol to underage patrons will be subject to sting operations and enforcement inspections by the multi-agency MARCH operation, one of which has been scheduled for this month, McCarthy said.
Twice a week, instead of the normal twice a month, police cadets 20 years old will make observations and attempt to buy drinks and will issue summonses if they are not carded, McCarthy said. The precinct’s Cabaret Unit will go to the apartments of residents who complain about noisy bars and will issue summonses to bars if officers can hear “unreasonable noise” from the rear yards, he warned.
The precinct commander also urged bar owners to call police when a fight appears to be brewing. McCarthy said that officers would not issue a disorderly premises summons if they were called before the violence starts but that they would if a fight breaks out and the management sends a victim to the hospital in a cab. Lieutenant Ed Winski, operations chief of the precinct, told bar owners that if a fight breaks out, they should only eject one of the combatants, and hold the other inside the bar until police arrive.
At the May 10 Ninth Precinct Community Council meeting, McCarthy announced that the Ninth is the leader in Manhattan precincts in crime reduction this year, with crime down 16 percent from the previous year, with robberies down 10 percent.
