City curtails late-night carousing for conventioneers By Associated Press Monday, July 12, 2004 BOSTON - City officials want the Democratic party in Boston, but they don't want the party to go too late. Nightclubs and restaurants that have asked for city permission to stay open past the city's 2 a.m. closing time during the Democratic National Convention have had their requests nixed by city officials, and a request to let a party in John Kerry's honor at Avalon continue until 3 a.m. was denied. Planners of a $1,000-a-head party at the Berkeley Street clothing store Louis Boston asked that the funk-rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers be allowed to play until midnight. But the city is strictly enforcing a permit allowing them to play only until 11 p.m., so the band will have to go on before many of the guests have arrived, said Debi Greenberg, the store's owner. ``It makes it very hard,'' Greenberg told a Boston newspaper. Patricia A. Malone, director of the Mayor's Office of Consumer Affairs and Licensing, said no events will go past 2 a.m. ``There are public safety issues. The city doesn't have the resources to allow for the operation of a licensed premise after the legal closing time,'' she said. Some delegates and out-of-towners expecting to cut loose at the convention see Boston's prohibitions as almost prudish. Adriana Martinez, chairwoman of the Nevada Democratic Party, said that her delegates may be just getting warmed up when the parties start winding down. ``We're used to a 24-hour town,'' Martinez said, ``especially since most of our delegates are from Las Vegas.'' Patrick B. Moscaritolo, president of the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau, said that shutting down early is ``part of the Boston package.'' ``It's what you get when you choose Boston,'' he said. ``You get the history, the uniqueness of Boston, the fact that it's an easy city to get around and has great museums and attractions. But you also get the 2 o'clock closing - that kind of continued overlay of 300 years of the Puritan ethic.'' Republicans meeting in August in New York will reap the benefits of being in the city that never sleeps, with bars and clubs open until 4 a.m. Mayor Thomas M. Menino said he considered letting some restaurants and clubs stay open past 2 a.m. but opted against it, partly because he didn't want to be accused of favoritism. ``Boston is unique; our commercial districts abut residential districts. We've done well with the hours in the past,'' he said. NO Go
