The party is going to come to an abrupt end in Downtown Easton if bar patrons continue to ignore rules put into place to keep everyone safe, the city’s mayor said Monday.
Mayor Sal Panto Jr.‘s remarks to lehighvalleylive.com come after a rough weekend that included a homicide, rampant disregard for social distancing guidelines and widespread littering in Centre Square.
City police report a 22-year-old Palmer Township man died after an attack early Sunday morning near Centre Square.
And although Panto said the violence remains the top concern stemming from the weekend, there are other concerns that need to be addressed immediately. He estimated that several hundred people at one point Saturday night were tightly gathered in the southeast quadrant of Centre Square.
“We didn’t want it to be an open, Mardi Gras-type atmosphere,” the mayor said of a city program that allows bars and restaurants to offer expanded outdoor service so they can properly practice social distancing and other COVID-19 mitigation guidelines. “It’s unfortunate. It’s only a few people who ruin it all for the masses. We don’t want the spread of COVID and we certainly don’t want violence.”
Social distancing wasn’t being practiced and patrons from the several bars operating in the quadrant were illegally carrying alcoholic beverages outside of designated areas, he said. By Sunday morning, Centre Square was a mess, with litter strewn all over the place including empty bottles of liquor, he said.
The mayor said he doesn’t blame any individual business for what transpired and acknowledged Centre Square’s southeast quadrant is densely packed with bars, presenting a unique challenges in terms of crowd management. But he noted that it is still the responsibility of each business to ensure its employees and patrons are following the rules. If that’s not done, the city will shut them down, Panto said.
“We tried to help them, but we’re not going to tolerate this,” he said of this weekend’s activity and similar issues that occurred the previous weekend. “Public safety comes first. It’s paramount to everything we do.”
The mayor on Sunday met with the owners of the six bars and restaurants that are in the southeast quadrant: Pearly Baker’s Ale House, Mother’s Bar & Grille, The Standard, One Centre Square, Rivals Sports Bar & Restaurant and Stoke Coal Fire Pizza & Bar. He issued a new set of rules that the city’s enacting for this coming weekend. Police will be present to ensure the rules are being followed. If there are violations, the city will revoke their permit for the expanded outdoor service, he said, adding the time for warnings has passed.
“They were all very, very cooperative,” he said of the business owners’ response at the meeting.
The new rules include erecting some type of fencing around the designated outdoor area for each business, prohibiting service to those who aren’t seated within the area and not allowing the carryout of any beverages from the area. The city has identified a big problem with patrons leaving the designated areas with drinks in hand. It’s illegal, Panto said, and those caught will be cited by police under a zero-tolerance policy.
The city crafted the outdoor dining program at the height of the pandemic as a way to allow struggling restaurants and bars to safely reopen after the state shutdown aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus, which causes COVID-19. The program involved closing down portions of city streets to allow for more tables and social distancing in front of the establishments.
The Lehigh Valley on Friday entered the green phase of Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf’s three-phased plan for reopening the state. It’s the least restrictive of the three phases and allows for limited indoor dining at restaurants.
Panto said he understands people’s desire to go out after being stuck at home for so long. It’s something he supports as long as it’s done in a manner that not only keeps people safe, but also preserves the positive downtown reputation that the city has fought years, perhaps decades, to rebuild.
“As I told (the business owners) on Sunday, this is not just a southeast quad issue, this is a downtown issue,” the mayor said. “We’re finally getting over that perception that it’s not safe to come downtown, We’re very mindful of that fact.”
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Nick Falsone can be reached at nfalsone@lehighvalleylive.com.
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Mayor won’t tolerate ‘Mardi Gras-type’ atmosphere that hit Easton in 1st green phase weekend - lehighvalleylive.com
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