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Articles
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| Commission protests Fur Nightclub’s liquor license |
VOICE writes, "
By Julia O’Donoghue
The Near Northeast advisory neighborhood commission voted last week to protest the liquor-license renewal of the Fur Nightclub, citing safety concerns and parking problems associated with the establishment.
Representatives and the commission will appear at an initial hearing before the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board on Jan. 9, according to board officials. Some commissioners said they hope the hearing will lead to
negotiations and a voluntary agreement with the club at 33 Patterson St. NE located right off North Capitol Street.
Fur opened in 2004 and is one of D.C.’s largest nightclubs, with about a 3,000-person capacity. It is open to ages 18 and over on Friday and Saturday nights and available for private events or musical guests Sunday through Thursday. According to its Web site, which refers to Fur as a “megaclub,” the establishment draws around 8,000 patrons per week. "
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The Voice could not reach Fur’s owners or managers by phone.
Alan Kimber, who chairs the neighborhood commission’s liquor-license review committee, said several residents have complained that the club’s patrons park in the nearby neighborhood.
And even though Fur is located on the other side of area’s train tracks, some residents have also complained about noise associated with the club, according to commissioner Anne Phelps, whose single-member district includes the club.
But commissioners said the most pressing issue is public safety. From January 2006 to the beginning of December 2007, the Metropolitan Police Department was called to Fur’s address 277 times, according to a call sheet provided by the 1st District police station.
In normal preparations for liquor-license reviews, the police would list calls about incidents within 500 feet of the venue. But due to the high volume of incidents associated with Fur, police documented calls from only the club’s direct address, said Phelps.
The majority of the calls -- 40 -- involved disorderly conduct, according to police documents. Also, lost property (32 incidents), simple assault (29 incidents) and theft from auto (18 incidents) were among the highest-cited reasons for calling the police.
But several calls arose from incidents classified as “assault with intent to kill.” Police documents show two incidents of carrying a pistol without a license and two about the sound of gunshots.
“I couldn’t get reports on so many of these [incidents] because of ongoing investigations. … A lot of the problems are related to assaulting patrons,” said Phelps at the commission meeting last week.
The Alcoholic Beverage Control Board also has cited the club for operating before and after its permitted hours, Phelps said.
Fur should not have a problem with security because it uses off-duty police officers to control the club, commissioner Mark Dixon said during the meeting He added that the nightclub has always been willing to work with the community in the past.
Phelps said she had not contacted Fur about the commission’s meeting, and no one attended to speak on the club’s behalf.
People from the establishment should have been informed, said advisory neighborhood commissioner Tom Hamilton, who said he would nevertheless support the protest.
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Posted on Dec 20, 2007 20:37pm.
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