Tavern at A Granted Entertainment License Over Neighbor Opposition

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Tavern at the A on the General Electric Athletic Course (GEAA) is under new management and is staged for weeklong live music despite pushback from some abutters.

On Monday, the Licensing Board approved an amended weekday entertainment license for the bar that was recently acquired by the former owner of Skyline Country Club in Lanesborough, James Mitus.

The weekday entertainment license permits "The A" to have live and recorded music events until 10 p.m. from Monday to Wednesday, 11 p.m. on Thursday, and 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Originally, the bar indicated that it wanted to be permitted for entertainment from 1 p.m. to 1 a.m. every day except for Sunday, which requires a state license. The schedule was curtailed at the request of concerned neighbors who signed a petition opposing a weeklong entertainment license.

Christine Adams of Clark Road represented the neighborhood at the meeting. The abutters have no experience with the bar's current owners and were speaking on experience with its previous owners.    

Adams claimed that she and her neighborhood have coexisted with The A for a number of years with the understanding that disturbances from its events, though inconvenient, are only occasional.  

"We understand the business needs and we have lived with the current license for years as disruptive at times as it's been because we've tried to be good neighbors," she asserted. "But an everyday license is unacceptable to us."

She reported noise, people lighting firecrackers on the golf course, and people leaving the bar to park on Clark Road and litter non-kid-friendly items on the ground.

"This is a residential neighborhood and I know they've existed for a long time, but there are houses all around so the first fact is that everyone considers is the noise, there's noise from the music, there's little or no buffer to prevent the music, usually it's the bass," Adams said.

"Some of the customers from the A, once it closes, tend to travel down Clark road to the turnaround, does a turn around down there and park, the next day, and this isn't all the time, but whenever there's an event, there's always an uptick of this empty nips, drug paraphernalia, and used condoms on the ground. There are children in this neighborhood."
 
Board member Kathy Amuso suggested the compromise that permitted music until 1 a.m. only on Fridays and Saturdays.

Fellow member Richard Stockwell added that this is the first time the board has heard of these issues from abutters.

Pittsfield ZBA Member Recognized for 40 Years of Service

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
12:23PM / Thursday, April 25, 2024

Albert Ingegni III tells the council about how his father-in-law, former Mayor Remo Del Gallo who died at age 94 in 2020, enjoyed his many years serving the city and told Ingegni to do the same. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — It's not every day that a citizen is recognized for decades of service to a local board — except for Tuesday.

Albert Ingegni III was applauded for four decades of service on the Zoning Board of Appeals during City Council. Mayor Peter Marchetti presented him with a certificate of thanks for his commitment to the community.

"It's not every day that you get to stand before the City Council in honor of a Pittsfield citizen who has dedicated 40 years of his life serving on a board or commission," he said.

"As we say that, I know that there are many people that want to serve on boards and commissions and this office will take any resume that there is and evaluate each person but tonight, we're here to honor Albert Ingegni."

The honoree is currently chair of the ZBA, which handles applicants who are appealing a decision or asking for a variance.

Ingegni said he was thinking on the ride over about his late father-in-law, former Mayor Remo Del Gallo, who told him to "enjoy every moment of it because it goes really quickly."

"He was right," he said. "Thank you all."

The council accepted $18,000 from the state Department of Conservation and Recreation and a  $310,060 from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Safe Streets and Roads for All program.