By Doug Miller
The ordinance, which takes effect immediately, was passed by the City Council Tuesday night after a brief and sparsely attended public hearing. The vote was 3-1, with Republican Councilman Jim Hennessy absent and his ally, Tom Sofield Jr., voting no.
The law makes it a violation for a person "having control of any residence" to allow a house party where the host "knows or has reason to know that any alcoholic beverage or drug is being unlawfully possessed, served to or consumed by a minor at said residence."
The ordinance was written by Council Vice President Robert Tepper, a Democrat and an attorney and former prosecutor. Unlike a previous version of "social host" legislation presented by the Long Beach Coalition Against Underage Drinking, which was the subject of a public hearing in June, this ordinance was given the blessing of the Long Beach corporation counsel's office.
Although this type of legislation is unique in New York state, Tepper said it would fit neatly within the state's penal law. "We're not trying to do anything radical," he said during the public hearing. "The deterrent effect is a lot greater than what is written here. While it is a strong law, its greatest strength is as a deterrent."
During the June public hearing it became clear that there was resistance to this kind of law in parts of the community, the concern being that it would expand police power. Before casting his dissenting vote, Sofield said, "This brings the government into people's homes. If someone isn't going to control their child, this ordinance won't do it."
While Sofield's father, Acting Police Commissioner Tom Sofield Sr., said on Tuesday that his department would have no official comment on the law either way, two of his lieutenants, Jack Radin and Michael Tangney, serve on the Underage Drinking Coalition and have fought for the law's passage. At the June public hearing, Radin insisted that it would only give police greater power to write tickets, not to enter private dwellings.
On Tuesday afternoon, Tangney was asked if he expected to see a flurry of social host tickets issued over the next year. "No," he replied. "But the more important question is, one year from now, do I expect to see a significant impact on underage drinking sanctioned by parents?, and the answer is absolutely. And the reason is the vast majority of society is law-abiding. Once parents are aware there is a penalty, they will comply. It's like the cars I see on the road at 3 a.m. that stop for red lights even though there are no cops around. It's because people are law-abiding, and it gives parents a tool to say, 'Not in my house.'"
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