CITYWATCH Critics rap N license as harmful to nightlife BY IAN DONNIS

The battle over Providence nightlife, which has intensified since city officials responded to the carjacking slayings of two college students in 2000 by trying to impose a 1 am closing time for bars and clubs, is back on the front burner.

City government is moving forward in requiring an N — or nightclub — license for venues with a capacity for between 200 and 10,000 people that make most of their revenue through alcohol sales or cover charges. Critics say the biggest difference with the N license — the inability to admit patrons after 1 am, even if an establishment has the right to remain open another hour — will take a big bite out of the business generated on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights.

Nightlife impresario Michael Kent, who owns the Complex and a number of other establishments (and like some of the other businesses mentioned in this story, is a Phoenix advertiser), has sued the city, claiming the N license is being unevenly applied, that parts of the related statute are vague, and that the rules enacted by the Providence Board of Licenses exceed the authority granted in enabling legislation, says his lawyer, Joseph A. Keough Jr. On Tuesday, October 25, Superior Court Judge Stephen Fortunato is scheduled to consider Kent’s request that the N license not be applied to his venues.

Asked whether the N license was meant to target Kent, Cliff Wood, Providence’s director of Providence’s Department of Arts, Culture and Tourism, says, "It’s more targeted to try to figure out a balance for downtown, for people coming to do their thing, but at the same time to ensure it’s a safe place." (As the Phoenix reported last year, Kent accused state Representative Paul Moura [D-Providence], the main sponsor of the related enabling legislation, of misleading him by surreptitiously changing the deadline for admitting nightlife patrons from 1:30 to 1 am. Moura has said Kent was kept informed through the course of the legislation.)

Still, it’s hard to understand why nightclubs are being targeted, rather than individuals who break the law. "That’s the problems with these kinds of laws — they’re reactionary," acknowledges city council president John J. Lombardi.

Meanwhile, a small number of establishments identified by the city as suitable targets for the N license — including Trinity Brewhouse and Jake’s Bar & Grill – have won exemptions. Jake’s proprietor Jackie Nichols remains concerned, though, that the N license could hurt Providence nightlife. "If we had to close at 1, we probably would have had to stop live music," she says.

The Providence Board of Licenses wrestled with the question of just what constitutes a nightclub as it granted a handful of exemptions on Monday. To bolster their case, several appellants enthusiastically cited the absence of a dance floor, dance lighting, and the like. At one point, Snookers’ owner, Steve Goulding, described the area in front of the stage of what used to be the Green Room, saying, "Once in a while, someone might shimmy or shake a little bit, but they’re not dancing." The board responded with disbelieving laughter, but granted an exemption nonetheless.