Atlanta City Councilman Kwanza Hall proposed a gutsy solution for city funding last November: extending “last call” for alcohol sales at bars and clubs from 2:30 a.m. to 4 a.m.
The bold move is an attempt to garner extra sales tax on booze. Hall hopes that it will help fund some of the city’s public safety improvements.
However, some public officials and council members seem unhinged by the idea. City Council President Lisa Borders and former mayor Shirley Franklin shake their heads at the proposal, claiming that extended hours would burden the police and, ironically, increase crime rates.
The 2:30 a.m. last call has been in effect since December 2003. City leaders saw this as a way to control violence and crime outside of clubs and bars. When I consider such crime, past incidents like the Buckhead shootings and the 2000 stabbing incident with football star Ray Lewis come to mind.
I admit that 2:30 a.m. always seemed too early, and my first reaction after hearing this proposed legislation was strong support. I always found Atlanta nightlife wanting and the city a little bit too sleepy for my tastes. Yet, looking at the issue as a whole, I don’t think that all bars should have the right to stay open till 4 a.m.
Extended hours would allow businesses to stay open longer and the economy would get a certain boost from it, but this also means extended hours for law enforcement. We run the risk of increasing drunk driving, noise, and public disturbances. Plus, the neighbors probably wouldn’t stand for it.
For many of the council members, the fact that last call used to be at 4 a.m. is a strike against this change. They still remember the problems and complaints from the noise and violence, and yet, at a public meeting held to discuss the issue, many members of the community supported the later time shift.
About 60 people, ranging in age and profession, came to the meeting last November. Many said that in order to advance Atlanta’s role as a global city, last call has to be changed. While I agree, I think that a drastic change like extending last call for bars over a wide area would cause issues.
Online, many people argue that compared to more popular cities such as Las Vegas or New York City, Atlanta has maintained a pretty bland and conservative lifestyle and has yet to live up to its potential. However, other major cities like Boston and Austin have last call at 2 a.m.
The City Council is looking into increasing the designated districts where alcohol can be served until 4 a.m. Right now, Underground Atlanta is the only area allowed to do this. Adding more areas would allow law enforcement to maintain a more controlled regulation over a specific area. It would enable us to test out Hall’s proposition or try to garner some of the benefits while keeping a watchful eye out for any issues.
Hall’s districts include Midtown, Castleberry Hill, and Old Fourth Ward, areas of popular nightlife that would be ideal to test out this legislation. However, many members of those communities are speaking out against this decision.
I believe the best solution would be to allow bars or clubs to purchase special “late night” licenses to serve until 4 a.m., like in London. Prominent nightclub attorney Alan Begner proposed in a Creative Loafing article that the city could allow bars to pay an extra $5,000 annually for a license issued to “well-behaved” bars and revoked when crime and noise become an issue. The city could keep tabs on which bars are open and police would still have specific areas to watch.
Despite some of my reservations, I commend Hall on the bold idea. Instead of raising taxes, he has come up with an ingenious way to earn much-needed money. Plus, bars get to stay open, giving the city extra money and a little boost to nightlife, and I’m sure we can all drink to that.
Extending last call a good move for Atlanta
Published: Monday, February 8, 2010
Updated: Monday, February 8, 2010
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