Block Island finds numerous bars serving minors; looks to curb 'out of control' drinking

A police sting operation found that numerous bars on Block Island were willing to serve alcohol to teenagers, adding new fuel to the push to address "out of control" drinking on the island.

"People have always come out here and partied," First Warden Andre Boudreau said at a Wednesday night meeting of the New Shoreham Town Council. "But it’s gotten out of hand."

The number of extremely intoxicated out-of-town visitors has become a major source of frustration on the island in recent weeks. Boudreau said he went into Old Harbor on the Fourth of July and "half the shops on Water Street were closed because there were just drunks in there stealing from the shop owners."

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"This is not the community, I don't think, that any of us in this room want to promote or be living in," he said.

Many resident complaints, though not all of them, have involved underage drinking. Over the past weekend, the New Shoreham Police Department carried out a "compliance check" to find out whether bars were serving alcohol to minors, with the help of two teen informants.

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On Saturday, an 18-year-old informant was sent to order drinks at seven bars. Six out of the seven — Ballard's Beach Club, the National Hotel, the Surf Hotel, the Beachead, Champlin's and The Oar — did not ask for identification or proof of age, according to the incident report. The Harborside Inn was the only establishment that refused to serve the teenager.

On Sunday, police repeated the experiment with a 19-year-old informant. Once again, Ballard's and The Oar did not card. Four businesses — Mahogany Shoals, The Harborside Inn, Champlin's and the National — would not serve the teenager.

The bars were chosen at random, according to the police report.

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"We are, of course, most embarrassed," said Rita Draper, whose family has managed The Oar for 25 years. She said the bar had never been cited for underage drinking in that time, "so we are very horrified."

Draper said The Oar held a staff meeting right away to “revisit policies and strategies to address the problem, and not let it happen again."

She said she didn't know exactly what happened over the weekend, but that she could see how an overwhelmed server or bartender might "let their guard down."

"It’s not excusable by any means," she added.

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Christopher Sereno, the owner of the National Hotel, said in an emailed statement that the issue was "something that we take seriously." A representative for the Surf Hotel said they would not be commenting at this time.

Other establishments that failed the compliance check did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Providence Journal.

However, Ballard's issued a statement to ABC6, saying that they take the matter "very seriously and will be working with the police department to ensure best practices are enhanced and put in place immediately.”

Bars get a warning; no immediate penalties

Failing a compliance check is not a criminal violation and does not automatically result in a penalty. At Wednesday night's council meeting, town officials debated how to respond to the Police Department's findings.

James Callaghan, who provides legal counsel for the town, said he understood the urge to "do something immediately and throw the hammer down." However, immediately holding "show cause" hearings for the seven bars that failed a compliance check would likely not be productive, he said.

Callaghan suggested that the council instead "provide a seat at the table [for bar owners] to show that they are doing something to address these issues."

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"You’ll get more in the long run," he said, later adding, "If I was one of the owners of the establishments, I’d be sure to be on notice."

Councilor Keith Stover suggested a "community conversation" with liquor license holders, ferry operators, the volunteer rescue team, police and members of the Town Council to discuss "what we can do to turn the temperature down."

"My sense is people would be very willing to engage in this conversation," he said, describing liquor license holders as "similarly concerned about the current environment."

Representatives from several of the bars that failed the compliance check were present at the Wednesday council meeting and expressed support for the idea. The date was set for Monday, July 25, at 3 p.m.

Broader concerns about 'out of control' behavior

At Wednesday's meeting, council members also expressed broader concerns about the amount of lawless, drunken behavior that they are seeing on the island.

Boudreau said the Block Island Land Trust has been forced to hire more people to police its properties. Stover said that when riding his bike on Water Street, he sees "people literally falling off the curbs."

"Block island’s always been a party place, but let’s face it, it’s busier," Boudreau said. "It’s a lot busier than it has been. ... It’s out of control."

Some councilors suggested that advertisements for local businesses that focus on alcohol and close-ups of cocktails were contributing to the problem.

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Councilor Martha Ball said that there were a couple of television ads, in particular, that concerned her, and that she didn't see why "anyone has to advertise liquor to get people to come to Block Island."

Boudreau agreed, saying that there was a "social contract" on the island and that the town could ask businesses to "lay off" advertising that promotes Block Island as a drinking spot.

He also argued that Block Island needs more police so that it can better enforce liquor laws. "When budget season comes rolling around, we tend to forget the passions of the summer," he said.

Town Manager Maryanne Crawford said police plan to continue to conduct compliance checks, and that the town was working with South County Prevention to get new signs reminding people about open container laws.

Interstate Navigation, which operates the Block Island Ferry, has agreed to add reminders about the island's public drinking laws to its announcements, she said.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Block Island finds underage drinking at bars including Ballard's