'No rules at all'? Downtown group, St. Louis battle over liquor control complaints
ST. LOUIS — A group of downtown developers and residents says the city’s liquor control division is failing to enforce rules governing bars and nightclubs, allowing lawlessness to spread in the popular Washington Avenue entertainment district.
In a letter to Public Safety Director Dan Isom earlier this month, Citizens for a Greater Downtown St. Louis accused liquor control chief Myles McDonnell and his division of standing by as “large late-night crowds, alcohol-fueled disorderly behavior, and criminal activity” threaten the existence of the neighborhood.
McDonnell and the office of Mayor Tishaura O. Jones resolutely rejected the claims in the letter.
“It’s wholly inaccurate,” McDonnell said this week.
Downtown has been buffeted by concerns over crime and late-night rowdiness every few years for the past decade. Last year, reports of violent crime spiked to record levels in June and July amid the pandemic and civil unrest following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, rekindling worries.
Read more: https://www.stltoday.com/business/local/no-rules-at-all-downtown-group-city-battle-over-liquor-control-complaints/article_7d8d6846-8d94-55b5-b5fb-df5b13593a9b.html