Ballard's asks state to stay a two-week suspension of liquor, entertainment licenses
BLOCK ISLAND – After the New Shoreham Town Council unanimously suspended Ballard's Beach Resort's liquor and entertainment licenses for 14 days after a show-cause hearing Monday night, the company's attorneys have asked the state to stay the suspension as they appeal it.
Attorneys for New Shoreham and Ballard's appeared in front of a Department of Business Regulation hearing officer on Tuesday afternoon after the six-hour show cause hearing Monday night.
Hearing Officer Catherine Warren abruptly ended the hour-long hearing after listening to both sides and without saying when she will issue an order.
Rhode Island Commerce spokeswoman Jennifer McGee said no decision on the stay request was expected to be filed Tuesday.
Aug. 18, 2022: Police detail chaotic scene at Ballard's before fight on Block Island Ferry. What we know.
The suspensions come after the resort's annual Reggae Fest on Aug. 8, Victory Day, overwhelmed Ballard's, nearby beaches and the ferries that brought revelers to and from Block Island.
Brian LaPlante, representing Ballard's, and Nicholas Solitro, who represented the town, agreed that the basis of the decision by the Town Council, acting as license commissioners was a series of physical and verbal altercations at Ballard's on Aug. 8, a lack of security officers, as well as an instance where patrons pushed over a fence to gain access to the property to bypass the long security line.
Also part of the decision, Solitro said, was a "mass exodus" from the bar after owner Steven Filippi ordered the music and taps shut off at 6 p.m. He subsequently ordered the music turned back on and a single bartender to open each station at the request of town officials.
LaPlante said the suspension would hurt the resort's business, estimating it is as 10% of the season, and force the foreign student workers in the country on H-2B visas to scramble to find early flights home.
New Shoreham Town Council suspends licenses for 14 days
The decision to issue the suspensions came after hours of testimony at the show-cause hearing Monday night and no debate among New Shoreham Town Council members. The hearing ran from 5 p.m. to nearly 11 p.m.
Videos of multiple brawls from Aug. 8 made national headlines, and seven people were arrested on the night ferry from Block Island to Galilee. Video on social media showed some officers jumping onto the ferry from a Coast Guard boat. First Warden Andre Boudreau read a recitation of the testimony heard during the hearing.
Boudreau then made a motion to find that Ballard's violated its entertainment and liquor licenses by being a danger to public safety and a nuisance to the neighborhood, which was unanimously approved without any debate or discussion. He then asked the council what to do about punishment.
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Second Warden Sven Risom called for a 14-day suspension, citing the video evidence.
Town Council member Mark Emmanuelle read from a prepared statement, calling for the council to revoke both of Ballard's licenses, and member Martha Ball said the suspension was a good way to make sure things don't get out of control in the future. Before the vote on a 14-day suspension, Emmanuelle said he would vote for it so the decision was unanimous.
Ballard's spokeswoman Kimberly Poland, with Poland Media Group, wrote in a statement that the council's decision was "pre-scripted" and not discussed by the board.
Impartial judges?
Before the Town Council heard the first witness on Monday, Ballard's attorney LaPlante asked members to recuse themselves, citing an Aug. 11 meeting in which they said they wanted to take action against Ballard's and scheduled Monday's show-cause hearing.
Aug. 12, 2022: Ballard's faces backlash after Block Island bar brawl; council may suspend liquor license
After reading council members' statements from the Aug. 11 meeting, including requests to the public to provide evidence to use against Ballard's, LaPlante asked council members to recuse themselves from the case.
The council members, who were not provided LaPlante's motion to recuse themselves, went forward with the hearing without discussing whether they thought they could be impartial.
Later in the hearing, as LaPlante tried to ask former interim Police Chief Peter Chabot questions about the ferry's role, the town's attorney, James Callaghan, objected and the board refused to let LaPlante argue why he should be allowed to continue asking questions.
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During the emergency hearing to stay the suspension on Tuesday, LaPlante called the motions "pre-prepared and pre-packaged" and the findings "alarming" and further proof that Town Council members were trying to find ways to take action against Ballard's before the hearing.
Who's responsible?
When Filippi, who is running unopposed for a seat on the Town Council, testified on Monday night, he laid much of the blame on Chabot and the ferry company. He said Chabot asked him to slow the checking of IDs that preceded people being allowed into Ballard's with wristbands indicating they were old enough to drink.
July 21, 2022: Block Island finds numerous bars serving minors; looks to curb 'out of control' drinking
That in turn led to long lines that stretched onto the town dock, and people jumping fences and knocking over fences, he said.
Filippi also contested Chabot's testimony that everyone left Ballard's and went to the ferry when he turned the music off and told the bartenders to stop serving, calling it a slow process.
Chabot stated he asked Filippi to turn the music back on and put one bartender at each station, but the crowd immediately emptied from the resort into the town.
"It's a shame eight to ten people ruin it for everyone," Filippi said.
Watch: Six-hour show cause hearing resulting in the suspension of Ballard's liquor, entertainment licenses
On Aug. 8, the large number of people trying to get on the last boat of the night prompted Interstate Navigation, which provides the island's ferry service, to add an extra, unscheduled run, which is where a fight broke out.
Chabot said the "mass exodus" from Ballard's after the music was shut off was a major part of the problem. He also brought six additional state police troopers onto the island for the day, but they were outnumbered by thousands of revelers.
See more of our coverage of a chaotic summer on Block Island
Aug. 18, 2022: Police detail chaotic scene at Ballard's before fight on Block Island Ferry. What we know.
Aug. 12, 2022: Ballard's faces backlash after Block Island bar brawl; council may suspend liquor license
Aug. 9, 2022: Disturbance on Block Island ferry draws four police departments; they arrest 7 people
July 21, 2022: Block Island finds numerous bars serving minors; looks to curb 'out of control' drinking
July 11, 2022: 'Not our business': Update on alleged Block Island sexual assault abruptly called off
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Reach reporter Wheeler Cowperthwaite at wcowperthwaite@providencejournal.com or follow him on Twitter @WheelerReporter.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Ballard's Beach Resort plans to appeal liquor license suspension
