By Erin Shanahan 

At the end of last semester, many Fordham students discovered that several establishments outside of campus were closed. According to Fordham’s Public Safety, these bars were temporarily closed by the New York Police Department (NYPD) as a result of illegal sale of alcoholic beverages and, additionally, many of the bars may have been given sanctions.

These establishments included: The Blend Cafe, Howl at the Moon Bar and Grill, Mugz’s Sports Bar, Blue Goose Tavern, Champs Sports Bar and Grill.

Fordham University claims to have not been involved with the establishments’ temporary shutdown. “We, as a university, comply with state law,” commented John Carroll, the associate vice president of Fordham’s Department of Public Safety, “and that means that you have to be over 21 to drink. However, it’s not our responsibility or our particular role to enforce the law in the streets- that’s what the NYPD have to do.”

The NYPD found that many of these establishments were guilty of selling alcohol to minors. “The NYPD had done what you call undercover buys in these bars,” Carroll reported. “The feedback that we got back from the NYPD suggests that these places were selling large quantities of liquor to underage students. That’s a violation of state laws.”

These establishments can be reported for a variety of reasons. “Typically complaints drive the police to take action,” Public Safety Investigator William (Bill) J. McSorley said, “such as violence, fights, thefts and noise. Then, in this case of suspected sale of alcohol to minors, three undercover buys must take place. After the buys take place, a Nuisance Abatement is signed by a judge. This closes the bar and calls them into trial.”

According to the City of New York’s NYPD webpage, Nuisance Abatement Law is used to address problems such as drug sales in commercial buildings as well as the illegal sale of alcoholic beverages (e.g. unlicensed, to minors or “afterhours”). The Civil Enforcement Unit also obtains closing orders under the Nuisance Abatement Law, meaning the city can close down establishments for a time should these violations be suspected.

“Sometimes, there are stipulations where a bar will now have to agree to some conditions, almost like a probation,” McSorley stated. “For instance, they may have to close earlier, or they may need an ID scanner or documented security. There may be a litany of rules put in place after their hearing.”

A similar situation happened in Hempstead, New York, near Hofstra University last September. Sixteen workers were arrested for serving minors at three Hempstead bars following a State Liquor Authority investigation, police said.

The three bars were located on Fulton Avenue, just two blocks away from Hofstra University. From the three bars, four workers at Mchebes Bar were arrested, while five workers at the Dizzy Lizard and seven from Bangers Bar were arrested. These employees were charged with violating NYS Alcohol Beverage and Control Law, NYS Penal Law Unlawful Dealing with a Child and Prohibited Sale Alcoholic Beverage.

The authorities in several communities are cracking down on the sale of alcohol to minors, especially around college campuses. As a result of the bar’s changes, Fordham upperclassmen’s social scene may be changing in the coming months.