The clubs want to stay in business. The neighbours want some peace. And
the kids just want to have fun
Publication title: Edmonton Journal
Pages: A1 / FRONT
Section: News
Publication date:
Jan 13, 2001
ProQuest document ID:
252781766
Copyright:
Copyright Southam Publications Inc. Jan 13, 2001
Abstract:
Expert Parking manager Jim MacDonald says the area around
the clubs is quieter now, but he worries about the summer. He thinks warmer
weather will bring another round of problems at his parking lot, which is next
to the clubs.
On Friday, Phil Fearon, director of the city's licence
section, convened a hearing to decide whether the clubs' licences should be
renewed. After meeting for several hours at the Downtown Business Association,
representatives of the clubs were told they would have to wait to learn their
fate.
Full text:
Ran with factbox entitled "They Say" which has
been appended to the end of story.
Hours after shoppers and workers have deserted Edmonton 's downtown, a new
wave of people arrives to dance amid the bass-heavy music at popular clubs.
This Friday is quieter than many nights along 102nd Street . The
Rev has no live band and sits closed. Inside Lush, a handful of patrons shout
above the deejay music in orange-lit alcoves.
But Therapy, an all-night dance venue, comes alive after midnight.
The lineup of people waiting to get inside stretches down stairs in the back
entrance. Teens and 20-somethings wait for their turn to be frisked by
fatigue-wearing security guards before entering the alcohol-free club. The
ritual repeats itself every weekend when the club opens from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.
Cameras capture the customers' IDs on tape. Guards check for drugs.
These are three of the downtown clubs whose business
licences are under review, mainly because of noise complaints.
A seniors' high-rise building and Alberta Place Suite Hotel
share a common alley where they say youths often loiter. They also complain
about broken bottles and litter, graffiti scrawled on the walls of neighbouring
buildings, a cacophony of late-night noise. And lost business.
At a hearing Friday, the clubs' owner Oliver Friedmann
defended his efforts to respond to those concerns.
Earlier closing times, more soundproofing and tighter
security would get riff-raff off the streets, says hotel manager Lillian
Pushor.
"I have no problem with (Friedmann) making a living,
but not to the detriment of everyone around him," she says.
The long-time club owner has put in a soundproof enclosure
around the Rev's back-alley exit, which muffles the noise. In this commercially
zoned area, sound levels must not exceed 60 decibels.
The city's noise bylaw says that after 10 p.m., any noise
that disturbs "the peace, comfort of the repose of any person" is an
offence.
On this night, Friedmann asks his staff to do five noise
checks in several spots with a sound meter.
All but one, taken from a parkade at a level above the
club's building, fall within the bylaw requirement.
Maybe he'll have to add soundproofing to the roof, Friedmann
says. He is willing to invest up to $50,000 on the project if necessary.
But the clubs' pounding music isn't the only sound heard
outside. Some patrons stand outside to take a breather. Non-patrons have also
made the area a hangout.
Friedmann flinches as a half-dozen youths scoot through the
alley, hurling shouts at somebody running away. They may not even be customers
from the clubs, he says. Dressed in leather and chains, they just don't look
the part.
Around 4 a.m., there's another outburst. A scuffle outside
the nearby pizza parlour breaks out. Two young men throw punches and the
dispute is settled in seconds. Customers buying pizza by the slice ignore the
commotion.
Expert Parking manager Jim MacDonald says the area around
the clubs is quieter now, but he worries about the summer. He thinks warmer
weather will bring another round of problems at his parking lot, which is next
to the clubs.
"Kids want to have fun," he says. "I am not
against that. (But) I disagree that without them the downtown would be
dead."
Troubles with noise and litter escalated until last mid-August
when MacDonald hired a private security company and shut down his lot at night
until October. It cost him more than $5,000.
"I wouldn't be unhappy to see (the clubs) gone, but I
am prepared to work with them."
"We almost need police to deal solely with after-hours
clubs."
On Friday, Phil Fearon, director of the city's licence
section, convened a hearing to decide whether the clubs' licences should be
renewed. After meeting for several hours at the Downtown Business Association,
representatives of the clubs were told they would have to wait to learn their
fate.
Marcus Gurske, clubs' spokesperson, said a decision on their
future is expected within two weeks and may come as early as Monday. In the
meantime it's business as usual.
Patrons defend their right to be there. Sixteen-year-old
Laura Hostyn waits all week until she can mix again with peers. Problems can be
fixed, she says, adding it is mainly outsiders who cause the trouble, she says.
"I couldn't find a group of people who understood
me," Hostyn says, her pink-dyed hair peeking out from a backwards ball
cap. "I belong here. ... The real world is judgmental and stereotypical. I
despise that."
Sarah Lawrence, 17, says youth are oppressed by authority
figures who don't understand the club and its supporters. The people who want
to close them down don't have enough P.L.U.R., she says, referring to the
peace, love, understanding and respect phrase that has become a mantra among
the dancers.
"This is important to those of us who come here," Lawrence says.
"Everyone is entitled to freedom of speech and thought
and communication."
Coun. Michael Phair, whose ward includes the area, says a
compromise among neighbours for more tolerance and less noise can work, he
says. That doesn't mean restricting hours, but respecting neighbours.
"We have to find a way of dealing with people's
behaviour."
THEY SAY:
- "The downtown definition permits clubs like this to
exist. I don't expect council will try to limit that." --Coun. Michael
Phair
- "We tried the diplomatic approach and that didn't
work." -- Const. Grant Jongejan
- "Our neighbours have valid concerns ... but they
haven't given it time to view the results." Club owner Oliver Friedmann
- "Please don't shut it down... This is safe. Security
is everywhere." -- Sam Henderson, 16, Therapy patron
- "I have no idea ... why it got out of hand. Maybe the
people are rowdier." --Jim MacDonald, manager Expert Parking
- "It is not just a dance club. My life revolves around
it." -- Laura Hostyn, 16, Therapy patron
- "I have no problem with kids being out all night. I
did it ... But we had respect for people's property and weren't doing things
like that." -- Lillian Pushor, manager of Alberta Place Suite Hotel
- "The only people who know what goes on here are staff
and the people who come here." -- Sarah Lawrence, 17, Therapy regular
Illustration
Colour Photo: Jason Scott, The Journal / Teens dance at Club
Therapy on a recent weekend. ;
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