First they came for the pop-up cafes, and we didn't speak out because we had never been to one. Then they came for our bike lanes, and we didn't speak out because we missed the Cajun food. Then they came for our pub crawls...who is left to speak out for the zombies and the snuggies?
On March 31st the Community Board [pdf] will have a "preliminary discussion on possible resolution to ban pub crawls," in no small part inspired by residents complaining about pub crawlers drunkenly hanging out of windows as early as 10 a.m.—on St. Patrick's day no less! Miffed residents say that pub crawls stumbling through their neighborhood crowd the streets, cause excess noise, and encourage binge drinking. CB 6 rep Toni Carlina said the crawls "may be a lot of fun for the revelers, but they're not a lot of fun for the community." Chair Mark Thompson also said that social networking and deals offered through sites like Groupon and LivingSocial are making the pub crawls more common.
However, some of the neighborhood's drinking establishments say the crawls boost business. Eddie Miller of pubcrawls.com said his St. Patrick's Day pub crawl can't be held completely responsible. "St. Patrick's Day is a huge holiday in New York City, and my small pub crawl only represents a fraction of the people who celebrate it," he told the Post. And one bartender at Sidebar said, "People are just going to make their own pub crawl, even if it's not sponsored. It's not going to stop someone sending out an invitation to 2,000 people on Facebook." The State Liquor Authority also said it wouldn't enforce bans on the events, but there are rules about drink specials that could be enforced more.
