ALLENTOWN (TNS) — I hate it when people steal my lines.
As I considered how to address one of the latest save-the-bars proposals by our esteemed state Legislature — to move closing time to 4 a.m. — it was as if local bar owners had been reading my mind.
In interviews with The Morning Call, they mentioned how stupid the idea was, and that nothing good happens after midnight.
The idea comes from Rep. Jordan Harris, D-Philadelphia, who says he intends to introduce legislation soon. He had the same idea six years ago and it went nowhere. His previous legislation to extend last call was never called on for a vote.
This seems like just another lawmaker trying to capitalize on a crisis.
The bar and restaurant industry is hurting because of the restrictions imposed during the pandemic. Lawmakers are tripping over themselves trying to be seen as their savior, and in turn win favor with the industry’s lobby.
Harris said that allowing municipalities to create entertainment zones with bars and restaurants open until 4 a.m. would help those businesses and “help create the vibrant, thriving nightlife our world-class cities deserve.”
Let’s dive into those thoughts a bit.
Why does vibrant, thriving entertainment have to occur in the dead of the night? Longer and later nightlife doesn’t mean it would be better.
A lot of Pennsylvania communities put on a pretty good show, even in the daylight.
I had Father’s Day lunch in Phoenixville. A block in the center of town was closed to traffic. Even in blistering heat, the sidewalk seating at the bars and restaurants was pretty much full. People walked in the street with drinks, talking with friends and window shopping.
Pennsylvania could create vibrant entertainment at reasonable hours if it would relax its archaic liquor control laws to allow more flexibility for outdoor dining, takeout drinks and consumption within expanded areas.
Yes, bars and restaurants might rake in more cash by staying open later, but only if they consistently have good crowds. Extra hours come with costs, too, including insurance.
Bars and restaurants can’t fill their staffs now. How would they find people willing to work even later hours? Paying them more would seem to be the only way.
There could be a trickle-down benefit to municipalities through tax revenues. But they could face a cost as well, such as the need to have a larger overnight police presence. And they’d have to deal with complaints about noise and traffic from residents trying to sleep.
The state would create more opportunities for murder and mayhem by encouraging people to be on the streets later in cities such as Philadelphia. The city’s crime problem already is beyond words.
The streets in Allentown aren’t the safest place to be in the dead of the night, either.
I’m all for having a few beers with friends. But continuing the party until just an hour or so before dawn is unnecessary.
Those who haven’t had enough when the lights come on at 2 a.m. can continue at home.
(Paul Muschick is a columnist for The Morning Call of Allentown.)
