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ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Saturday night marked the fourth week that Rochester Police closed off the East End, home to many popular bars and restaurants, to traffic.
On Saturdays between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m., anyone entering the areas around East Avenue and Alexander Street must be 21 or older. RPD is also checking people for weapons. After nearly a month of new safety measures, bar owners in the area seem to be split on that decision.
Some are glad to have the extra security, saying it’s nice to have one less thing to worry about. But others say the checkpoints, ID checks, and barriers are driving customers away, saying they’re losing up to half of their usual crowd.
Taylor Parmeter, a bartender at Axes & Ales near East and Alexander, says he’s all for making the area safer.
“I actually kind of like the idea. I’ve been to other cities where they do this on major blocks. You know, East & Alexander has this kind of legacy as being this spot in Rochester. It’s a very good nightlife spot,” Parmeter said. “If you’re out trying to enjoy yourself, you don’t have to worry about anything. And having that little bit of extra safety never hurt anybody, especially with the craziness that’s going on in the world right now.”
Not everyone is thrilled with the changes. Bars that are open later are seeing a drop in business, said Donald Swartz, who owns both Veneto Pizza & Pasta and the bar next door, Aqua Vitae.
“Over the past three weeks, we are off high 40%. So business has almost dropped in half,” Swartz said.
He says while his restaurant is fine, his bar, which is open until 1 a.m., has been struggling.
“People don’t want to come down the area. They’re saying they don’t want to be frisked. They don’t want to be wanted,” Swartz said. “They don’t want their personal items gone through just to walk down the street. The bars on the outside of this closure are doing fine. We know owners of bars that are closer to the Liberty Pole on that stretch of East Avenue, which is not affected, and their business has been up every week. So really, all, it’s done was chased away people that would have normally come into our businesses and spend money,” Swartz said.
Now, Swartz hopes to find a happy medium.
“It’s a bad look for the city and we’re just talking about walking down the road. Maybe keep the road closed to vehicle traffic. But the pat-downs, the metal detectors, the winding, the going through your personal stuff, I think it’s I think it’s overkill. And we’re probably at the point that that needs to stop,” he said.
Swartz tells News10NBC that he and other bar owners are meeting with the city every Tuesday to discuss how the restrictions are going. You can see see details on the restrictions on Saturday nights here.
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