Lure Protest & Petition Information
- Protest Letter:
http://j.mp/Lure-Protest-Letter
- Petiton:
http://j.mp/Lure-Petition
In this instance, the petition circle is defined as owners in the first three floors of the following buildings:
- Meridian Lofts
- Lucas Lofts
- Elder Shirt Lofts
- The Bogen Lofts
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Dear Neighbors,
A group of Downtown residents have decided to move forward with a protest petition related to the liquor license of the nightclub, Lure, which operates at 1204 Washington.
A fact that is widely misunderstood is that the neighbors of businesses with liquor licenses have the right and the responsibility to police the conduct of establishments that possess liquor licenses. The police, the aldermen, the Mayor office, and even the excise / liquor license commissioner are all largely powerless in this area, having delegated their responsibility for monitoring the conduct of liquor licensees to those who are most impacted by the positive or negative operation of such a business, the property owners adjacent to such an operation, and in particular the residents. Just as these neighbors have the right to consent to the granting of a liquor license, through their signatures on petitions presented by the licensee, these neighbors also have the right to call into question whether an establishment should retain their liquor license due to the behavior of the licensee and its patrons. This group of neighbors is now acting on their responsibility to call into question the right of Lure to retain their liquor license based on a long history of horrendous behavior that has gone uncorrected despite many complaints and requests.
The correct legal vehicle for this group of neighbors to call into question Lure’s unsanctioned right to retain their liquor license is a protest petition. A protest petition is a document that, if signed by a majority of property owners within a 350 foot circle of an establishment such as Lure, triggers a series of hearings in front of the excise commissioner of the City of St. Louis. After hearing evidence from the licensee, the neighbors, the police, and other interested parties, the excise commissioner (subject to legal review from the associate circuit court) will issue a ruling about the establishment’s liquor license. He may determine that there is no reason to sanction the liquor license, he may put conditions on the retention of the license, or he may terminate the liquor license, depending on his evaluation of the evidence presented. This protest petition does not determine the outcome of the process, it just starts things moving.
The signatories below are asking that the owners of properties / condominiums on the first, second, or third floors (the legally entitled signatories), our neighbors, consider signing the attached petition that will initiate the review process related to the liquor license of Lure. We would not make this ask, or engage in this time consuming and difficult process, without good reason; we have no personal vendetta or excess of free time that have driven us to do this. We have valid reasons for believing that Lure has become a detriment to this neighborhood, which is the legal standard of review that the excise commissioner will use.
The conduct of the operators of Lure, and its patrons (for which Lure is responsible), has been abysmal and is deteriorating. In our opinion, the operators of Lure have never embraced the concept that they are part of a community, and that they need to adjust their behaviors in order to mitigate any negative impacts of their operation on their neighbors. Examples of the detrimental impacts of Lure on our neighborhood include, but are not limited, to the following:
- On June 11, 2010, at around 2 AM, police that were responding to a fight immediately after an event at Lure were fired on by individuals wielding assault rifles
- On January 1, 2009, a bar fight involving patrons of Lure spilled out into the residential lobby of the Jack Thompson Square condominiums, resulting in blood spraying the floor, walls, and furniture of the lobby
- Fights and shouting matches, particularly in early hours of the morning after Lure’s patrons are ejected from the club, are a regular occurrence
- In their own lobby, which serves as the emergency exit for Lure, the residents of the Jack Thompson Square condos have been threatened and intimidated by drunken patrons of Lure, who casually use that lobby for reasons other than emergency exit
- The St. Louis Metropolitan Police have responded to calls for service associated with Lure at least 50 times, diverting our police from other tasks essential to keeping our neighborhood safe
- On numerous occasions, trash and broken glass associated with Lure have littered the front entry to the Jack Thompson Square condominiums (which is also the emergency exit for Lure); trash and leaflets advertising events at Lure are continually found in the parking lot of the Jack Thompson Square condos
- Cigarette smoke from Lure continually escapes Lure into the lobby of the Jack Thompson Square condos, through the elevator shaft and into the upper floor residential lobbies and condominiums, subjecting the building residents to the health hazard and disgusting odor of intense second hand smoke; Lure has consistently failed to correct this problem despite many requests
- Lure has regularly coned off up to 15 parking spaces for their valet service, without having a permit to do so, occupying parking spaces that are essential to other neighborhood retailers
- The fire alarm for the Jack Thompson Square building has been pulled by Lure patrons or otherwise set off so often that the residents of the building have stopped responding to the alarm, placing the residents at elevated risk in the event of a real fire
- Minors sneak into Lure through the rear entrance of the club by breaking into the residential lobby of the Jack Thompson Square condos
- The music played at Lure is so loud that residents on the upper floors of the building feel their walls and furniture vibrate throughout of the night
- Vomit is regularly found in the lobby of the Jack Thompson Square condos, and drunken patrons of Lure are regularly found passed out in the lobby or on the building stairs adjacent to the lobby
- Furniture and floor tiles have been broken in the lobby of the Jack Thompson Square condos by Lure patrons
This list of behavioral problems is by no means all inclusive. And, many of these problems have been regularly brought to the attention to the operators of Lure, with effectively no response.
In fact, the only real response the operators of Lure have offered are public accusations that the entire neighborhood is racist and only responding to the presence of black patrons at Lure on its weekly hip-hop nights. This a classic response of a club operator who is unwilling to take responsibility for its behaviors and is trying to use groundless accusations to shift blame away from itself. The problematic behaviors of the patrons and owners of Lure happen on all the nights the club is open, not just the nights featuring hip-hop music, and stretch far into the past. Moreover, Downtown’s residents have chosen to move Downtown precisely because of their embrace of diversity of all kinds and their appreciation for living in close proximity to other humans, whatever their race, class, or beliefs. The calculated leveling of accusations of racism on a blanket basis are just another example of the lack of respect the owners of Lure have for our community and the shameless manipulations they will engage in to protect their selfish interests. From the perspective of this group of neighbors, the problem here is bad behavior, and the failure of Lure’s owner to control that bad behavior, not race.
Our neighbors, we request that you read and consider the above, and attempt to put yourselves in the shoes of those of us who are most affected by living in close proximity (and in some cases above) to Lure. If you agree that it is appropriate that the status of the liquor license of Lure be considered by the excise commissioner at a hearing in the near future, subject to the presentation of evidence by the protest representatives and the club owner, please sign the adjacent petition where indicated. We thank you very much for your consideration of our rights as residents.
After signing the attached petition, you can deliver it in two ways. With time being of the essence, we ask that you consider calling Ken Gabel at 574-0347, who is available from 8 am to 4 pm every day. He will dispatch someone to pick up the petition personally within 30 minutes. If you would prefer to mail the petition, an addressed, stamped envelope is included for your convenience.
