Opinion :: Guest Opinions
Neighborhood watch by Brian Boisvert
President of the Bay Village Neighborhood AssociationTuesday Jul 20, 2010 Editor’s Note: Bay Windows has learned since the online publication of this op-ed that Jacque’s will not be extending their closing hours, following a vote from the licensing board.
As reported last week, the Bay Village Neighborhood Association (BVNA) held a public meeting on June 29 for Jacque’s Cabaret to discuss extending their all-alcohol license from midnight to 2 a.m. Nearly 100 residents attended to talk about noise, traffic, vandalism, public urination, and prostitution in the area immediately surrounding Jacque’s when shows end. Neither the owner nor manager attended, instead sending their attorney, lobbyist Ted Aleixo.
He presented no solution for the concerns of neighbors and the Boston Police Department except for a police detail that Captain Bernard O’Rourke insisted would not be available during those hours. Aleixo even made the jaw-dropping claim that drunk bachelorettes walking away from the bar at closing may not be coming from Jacque’s. Such flippant dismissal of residents was routine in this meeting -- and, in fact, has been commonplace from Jacque’s for years. There was no good faith attempt to address the current troubles, let alone new ones created by extending their closing time. Consequently, the BVNA members voted unanimously to oppose the license extension.
Aleixo falsely claims that Jacque’s is "located in the heart of the Theater District." Jacque’s is in a residential neighborhood, both by zoning and simple observation. No one standing on the corner of Broadway and Piedmont is going to mistake it for the Theater District, nor would anyone looking at a city-zoning map. The only other alcohol licenses in Bay Village are held by two restaurants that both close before midnight, despite claims that Jacque’s has to "watch our patrons go to other neighborhood bars" after closing.
Their lawyer also argues that Jacque’s "was here first," saying that Bay Villagers have no legitimate complaints if they moved here knowing the bar existed. But this request would extend closing hours beyond the norm. When most people moved here, Jacque’s had its current midnight closing. Also, Jacque’s being here for years doesn’t give them permission to be a public nuisance today.
After failing to contradict facts presented by residents and the police, Aleixo resorted to the homophobia card twice. First, he made the bigoted claim that we should be happy that Jacque’s had "upgraded" from a predominantly homosexual clientele to bachelorettes. When that failed, he turned 180 degrees saying the neighborhood’s complaints constituted "discrimination" against gays. Both are bizarre and offensive assertions to make, especially at a BVNA-sponsored meeting. Bay Village is home to an incredibly diverse population, including a large number of gay residents as well as gay activists. Three of the past five BVNA presidents have been openly gay. The by-laws of our neighborhood organization contain a non-discrimination policy that includes sexual orientation and gender identity, among many other categories.
Aleixo went on to belittle our concerns in the press, calling them "very shallow" in the July 9 Boston Courant. That, along with the decades of issues under the current ownership, speaks volumes about the lack of sincerity that Jacques has to address known problems at the location.
Who’s buying this nonsense? So far, only Licensing Board Commissioner Suzanne Iannella, who introduced owner Henry Vara as a "family friend" at a recent hearing. We hope that Commissioner Michael Connolly, father of At-Large City Councilor John Connolly, won’t agree. We also hope that Governor Deval Patrick will appoint a third commissioner who cares about homeowners and the community, not taking care of "family friends."
Jacques has never taken responsibility for the behavior of its customers. A 2 a.m. closing would severely harm the quality of life in Bay Village. That’s the simple fact, and one that Jacques has provided absolutely no actionable plan to fix.
Brian Boisvert is the President of the Bay Village Neighborhood Association.
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