One more hiccup for Atlantic City booze law

ATLANTIC CITY - Don't take those red Solo cups out to the Boardwalk just yet. For the second time, the Atlantic City Council pulled off its agenda an ordinance that would permit open containers of alcohol on the Boardwalk.

In a consolation prize of sorts, the council did agree Wednesday night to extend Boardwalk summer bicycle hours from the current 6 a.m.-until-10 a.m. to 6 a.m. to noon, consistent with neighboring Ventnor's hours.

The open-container ordinance was first proposed last month, but was pulled by Council President Marty Small to allow further input.

Small said the ordinance would have expanded the boundaries of the open-container law to include businesses within 150 feet of the Boardwalk.

But Wednesday afternoon, there was another hiccup. Small said he was again pulling the ordinance from consideration. He said the state's Division of Alcohol and Beverage Control had been in correspondence with the city about whether the ordinance was consistent with state regulations.

The proposed ordinance states that the law would not be enacted until it had been vetted by state authorities, and was to be considered a trial. But Small said he was delaying a vote to allow the ABC and Division of Gaming Enforcement to take a closer look.

Small added that he was not sure the proposal had enough votes to pass, although in the past he had said that it had the support of the council.

The ordinance would require two readings to become law. The council is only meeting monthly during the summer, so this second delay means it is unlikely to take effect during the high tourist season.

News of the stalled law was greeted with groans. Councilman Jesse Kurtz tweeted: "State should get on board or get out of the way of this open container initiative."

A homeowner who tweets as @CityofAtlantic tweeted, "Just pass it already EVERY SUMMER COUNTS."

The proposed law is similar to ones in effect at Walt Disney World, in Las Vegas, and on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. "No reason Bourbon Street should have this and not the A.C. Boardwalk," said a Philly.com commenter identified as lxw212.

At the council meeting, Tom Forkin, chairman of the city's Alcohol Beverage Control Board, which recommended the ordinance, said, "It's just a shame we can't pull together to get an ordinance passed like this on the Boardwalk.

"New Orleans, Las Vegas, Key West. Are we not capable of doing this in Atlantic City as a revenue generator? We're losing an opportunity here."

Forkin said the city has to embrace the adult millennial tourist and not worry about competing with family destinations.

"We have 24-hour bars, casinos, strip clubs," Forkin said. "We have to embrace what we are. This is one small amenity for an adult tourism destination."

But Councilman George Tibbitt said he could not support an ordinance to "let people walk wild with alcohol."

"This is not something that's good for the image of the city," he said. "And what money are you going to make off of this?"

Tibbitt predicted the law would exacerbate problems, with the homeless and panhandlers taking the official cups for their own use, and might lead to drunken fights on the Boardwalk.

"What kind of degenerate takes their kids to Disney and has to have a drink in their hand?" Tibbitt said. "You're [a business] providing alcohol and then making a profit. Then you'll turn them loose and our cops have to deal with it."

Resident Alma Johnson said, "I just want to enjoy my gray-haired walks on the Boardwalk."

The council later approved a wedding procession on the Boardwalk that will be led by a horse, though, Small noted, "as long as the horse is not allowed to have a container on the Boardwalk."

Lisa Coryell, a spokeswoman for the state Attorney General's Office, said the state would have no comment on the particular concerns related to Atlantic City's proposal, and whether anything in state law would prevent the city from enacting an open-container law.

arosenberg@phillynews.com

609-823-0453 @amysrosenberg

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