By: Jennifer Marino
Worried parents recently reported two missing children to Rockville Centre police. It turned out they had been drinking in a bar and were too drunk to make it home.
There are 20 bars in Rockville Centre and a total of 81 businesses, including restaurants and convenience stores, that have liquor licenses. At a meeting with the State Liquor Authority arranged by the village, about two dozen owners and managers of bars, restaurants and stores learned where they stand when it comes to the Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) Law, losing their licenses and even being arrested.
I think it-s a great idea, said Anthony Geraci, one of the owners of Kasey-s American Grille and Madison Hall, of the meeting. It keeps everybody on their toes. The village sent letters to bar and restaurant owners to invite them to the meeting. According to Police Commissioner Jack McKeon, a similar meeting took place about five years ago, at which the police, the State Liquor Authority and businessmen and women shared concerns and insights.
Besides McKeon and several other police officers, Ron Wasson, village administrator, also spoke at the meeting.
The village strongly suggests that businesses that sell liquor invest in one of the machines that enable an identification card to be swiped and the information on it to be verified. Geraci said that fake IDs have gotten better because of computer technology. Madison Hall has one of the ID scanners, and they are looking to get one for Kasey-s.
The investigators from the State Liquor Authority, Marvin Levine and Howard L. Rosen, explained the laws governing the sale of liquor and the penalties that can be incurred. Matt McBride, another Madison Hall owner, said that he got a good overview from the meeting, and attended because it was the right thing to do.
Levine and Rosen reminded the owners of the many things they can be held accountable for, including having constructive awareness of a minor-s drinking. An example is a table of people, some of whom are 21 or older and some of whom aren-t, ordering pitchers of beer from which all are drinking. The bar or restaurant would have constructive awareness that underage patrons were drinking in that case, even though they weren-t buying.
Don-t be afraid to say no, said Levine, adding that business owners can-t be successfully sued for refusing to serve someone they suspect is under 21. It is also illegal to sell to the visibly intoxicated.
Geraci said his security staff is trained to cut off intoxicated patrons and to check driver-s licenses thoroughly. When problems arise, the police are called, he said. Which is another thing Levine and Rosen stressed. It-s better to be the complainant, said Rosen. When a disturbance occurs, it is good for an establishment to have a record that it called the authorities, he said.
One big issue for these businessmen and women is that if an underage person says he did not show identification, police cannot search him for a fake ID. The burden of proving that he did show ID is on the bars and stores. Which is why the scanning technology helps: It can keep a record of the licenses scanned.
We all want you to have a successful business, said McKeon, adding that he hoped for good faith efforts on the part of the police and the businesses.
Information on the ABC Law is available on the State Liquor Authority-s Web site, www.abc.state.ny.us. The authority also has a line for complaints against establishments, (212) 961-8378.
