Early Closing Restrictions Lifted for Pittsfield Bar

By Joe DurwinPittsfield Correspondent
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The Licensing Board cautiously voted to lift the early closing time for Johnny's Beach Club.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city's Licensing Board has voted 3-1 to lift sanctions for a Wahconah Street nightclub imposed after a mass disturbance that occurred there in March.

Johnny's Beach Club, formerly long known as Pepe's, will be allowed to resume a closing time of 2 a.m. despite some level of wariness expressed by members of the board on Monday.
 
The board voted to allow the resumed early-morning closing following testimony from Sgt. Michael Grady, who said owner John Giardina had cooperated with Pittsfield Police to implement recommended changes and had been in good standing since resuming business after a seven-day suspension earlier this year.
 
"Everything we've requested he's complied with and we haven't had any issues since," said Grady, who noted that the department had responded to "five or six" calls for the bar since the suspension, but none in which the tavern was judged responsible for any negligence.
 
Improvements were attributed to the increased presence of owner and manager Giardina at the establishment.
 
"Clearly when the owner is present there are fewer, if any, altercations," said Chairman Carmen C. Massimiano Jr.
 
Massimiano suggested that the board should acknowledge the improvements made by Giardina, but defended the severity of the board's censure.   
 
"That was a melee that went on, those were riotous conditions," Massimiano told Giardina of the March incident. "I think what we did was right."
 
"It's all about overserving, that's what it stems from," agreed board member Thomas Campoli.
 
"I feel like you're singling me out," Giardina told the board, saying the few times he'd been punished was not a large percentage given "three or four thousand" patrons served over his 20 years in business at that address.
 
"The dynamics of the city have changed," said Giardina, who expressed the opinion that overserving has not been the issue. "I will have to be a lot more vigilant."
 
"It's not the few bad people that caused a problem that night, it's the culture of what has been allowed to happen for years," said board member Dana Doyle.
 
"It just couldn't have turned into that explosive event if there wasn't overserving," agreed Massimiano.
 
"It's just the compiled history of your place that makes me hesitant," said Robert Quattrochi, who voted to oppose lifting the time restriction.
 
"The reality is that what happened in March was unprecedented. Obviously we have taken that very seriously," said Campoli, who motioned to allow the resumption of 2 a.m. closing, but said the board would be "tuned in closely" to what is happening at the establishment.

Tags: alochol licenses,   license board,   

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PHS Air and Water Quality Within Accepted Levels

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass.— Air and water quality testing at Pittsfield High School came back within acceptable levels, and the administration is open to additional testing. 

Last week, the School Committee accepted test results on the facility that has sat on East Street for nearly 100 years.  The report was done in collaboration with Atlas Technical Consultants and the Pittsfield Water Department. 

Readings were "acceptable" in all tested locations, and there are recommendations for monitoring humidity, replacing equipment, and additional air monitoring when needed.  Some retesting needed to be done, and a couple of sink faucets were removed in the process. 

"If you want every room sampled, we can do it," Mayor Peter Marchetti said in response to Ciara Batory's concerns about air sampling in only a handful of rooms. 

"This is the report that came back, and this report does not show that children are in danger."

Limited indoor air quality readings were done in rooms 102, 103, 104, and 116 on June 31.  Air quality testing was also done two years ago. 

Humidity levels were slightly above American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers guidelines in rooms 103 and 104; monitoring and dehumidification are recommended. 

The report says that mold spores captured in rooms 103 and 104 likely originated from an indoor source.  Custodial deep cleaning was done right before samples were taken, and a retest showed levels within an acceptable range. 

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