These five New Jersey bars will not be participating in the debaucherous LepreCon bar crawl, after receiving a suspension from the city.
LepreCon - think a SantaCon-style drinking fest but greener and with more shamrocks - has received an increasingly bad reputation since its inception.
The ‘celebration’ is scheduled to take place on March 3rd this year, but city officials have stepped in to regulate the event, which has become increasingly rife with public intoxication, drunk and disorderly behavior, and violence.
As cited by CBS Local, a press release from the office of Hoboken City announced that it has suspended the liquor license at 1Republik, Hoboken Bar and Grill, Green Rock Tap and Grill, Mill's Tavern, and The Shannon. The suspension means that these five watering holes must stay closed for a minimum of two days. In the case of 1Republik, the bar must close for good - effective immediately.
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1Republik is being slapped with a permanent closing order. The order comes after a woman was struck in the head with a plate last September, and another incident in December whereby an employee left a patron with life threatening injuries after an aggravated assault.
Hoboken Bar and Grill was issued a 30-day suspension after two police officers were injured during a violent brawl outside the bar’s premises, which involved up to 40 people.
Green Rock Tap & Grill must remain closed for 30 days, Mills Tavern was issued a 24-day suspension and The Shannon will be closed on March 3rd and March 4th.
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Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla has been vocal of his concern over holiday bar crawls such as SantaCon and LepreCon since his election to office last November.
"I am not happy with LepreCon, or SantaCon, but in my opinion, this is not a method to get things done in a collaborative fashion that serves everyone’s interest," he previously said. "The vast majority of bar owners are responsible license holders, but a very small number of establishments have failed to adequately control their patrons and the activities within their premises, leading to severe public safety issues," Bhalla said in a statement. "The discipline agreed to by the owners is appropriate and I hope will lead to an understanding that public safety is a top priority and that the ABC board will not hesitate to enforce the liquor license regulations.
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