IRVINGTON, NJ — West Ward Councilman Vern Cox is on a mission to clean up the city’s nightlife and social scene by closing down some of the strip bars and clubs that seem to have become magnets for crime, drugs, violence, and he’s using the Alcoholic Beverage Control bureau to do it.
According to township officials, an ABC meeting was scheduled to take place on Monday, Sept. 18, at 6 p.m., regarding disciplinary proceedings against The Paradizio Club on Clinton Avenue and the Point Tavern on Grove Street. But according to Cox and township clerk Harold Wiener, that meeting did not occur.
“It was postponed,” said Cox on Tuesday, Sept. 19. “Irvington has a very high rate of these kinds of businesses and they need to be strictly regulated. ‘Strictly regulated’ are the operative words going forward.”
Wiener confirmed that the ABC meeting was rescheduled.
“It’s going to be heard on Dec. 7 at 6 p.m. in the Council Chambers inside the Municipal Building,” said Wiener on Tuesday, Sept. 19. “The ABC matter was just something that was rescheduled. The last I heard from the prosecuting attorney from the town, they were going to trial. That was for the Paradizio case.”
Cox’s effort to take on local businesses operating in town — particularly strip bars and clubs — is an extension of Mayor Tony Vauss’ quest to make Irvington clean and safe by taking on the township’s longstanding public safety and economic issues.
“The whole council is doing it. I just happen to be the ABC board chairman,” Cox said. “The council has basically had it with the strip clubs and the activities that go on in them. We’re not comfortable with them, when it comes to the direction that the town is moving in. That’s just an enforcement issue. … The inspectors have been out there and in the community and they’ve been active. If it just happens that the establishments are in violation of the local ABC laws, then it’s (ABC inspectors’) and the police department’s job to enforce the law.”
South Ward Councilwoman Sandy Jones, a former ABC board chairwoman, said she understands what Cox is doing and can relate to his reasons for championing this particular cause.
“That’s a crusade,” said Jones on Thursday, July 27. “Slick’s is closed. I’m waiting for the other ones to fall by the wayside,” referring to Slick’s Go Go Bar on Nye Avenue.
Jones agreed with Cox that the task of taming Irvington’s nightlife can seem an uphill battle, because previous code enforcement efforts weren’t coordinated correctly. She also agreed that those days are past.
“I was the ABC chairperson once upon a time, so I can relate to what Councilman Cox is doing,” said Jones. “If you go to the one on Lyons Avenue, Paradizio, and you go on Clinton Avenue in the daytime on Saturday, then you will see the young ladies out there dancing, smoking and wiggling.”
Cox agreed that cleaning up Irvington’s nightlife “can be a challenging situation, if it’s not regulated properly” and “It’s going to work slowly and methodically,” but he’s in it for the long haul.
The way you clean up the nightlife and undesirable behaviors is to enforce the law,” he said. “You enforce the existing ordinances and laws by holding the owners accountable. That’s what it boils down to. It really simple. You just enforce the law. It’s adult fun, but it has to be regulated. It can’t just be an ‘anything goes’ environment. That leads to proliferation of crime, as well as proliferation of trash outside these establishments. I’m not talking about the people, I’m talking about the premises outside the establishments.”
But Cox also wanted to make it clear that law-abiding businesses operating in town don’t have anything to worry about, when it comes to a code-enforcement crackdown.
“They’re paying their taxes, otherwise they can’t renew their licenses. The only thing they have to do is step up their activities, controlling what goes on inside their establishments and in the streets and neighborhoods outside,” Cox said. “It’s the owner’s responsibility to maintain an acceptable environment in town. If they don’t do it, then the inspectors and code enforcement will be there to make sure that they do. No one is being singled out, nor will anyone receive preferential treatment. The law is going to be applied equally and fairly.”
The best thing for a local club owner, property owner or businessman to do, Cox said, is simply comply with existing township codes and laws.
“Every club owner knows the laws and what’s expected of them,” said Cox. “You’re licensed, you have a business, so operate it according to the state and local laws. We will be watching.”
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