Boro renews clubs' licenses amid concerns
New conditions imposed due to several violent incidents
BY MICHAEL ACKER
Staff Writer

Sayreville's four largest clubs can continue pouring drinks.

Borough officials, however, imposed several new conditions on the establishments while approving their liquor licenses at a hearing held Tuesday for the Colosseum, Club Abyss, Club Deko and Starland Ballroom.

Police Chief Edward Szkodny told the Suburban that incidents at the Colosseum and Club Abyss, both on Route 35, led police to recommend more than a dozen conditions for the two clubs.

Starland Ballroom and Club Deko did not face charges, but agreed to the additional conditions in the interests of uniformity.

Several incidents at the Colosseum and Club Abyss led to charges that the operations had become a public nuisance. On Tuesday, Club Abyss owner Kosta Rexinis and Colosseum owner Anthony Acciardi entered a plea of nonvult, acknowledging that the incidents occurred while not pleading guilty to the charges.

Mayor Kennedy O'Brien addressed the owner of the Colosseum at the hearing, saying that the routine disturbances reported at the club require police attention and are a waste of taxpayer dollars. He said the instances represent a risk to the safety of patrons, residents and law enforcement.

"I would not risk their personal safety and I will not risk the safety of the people of Sayreville," O'Brien said. "If it becomes a habit, I will personally close you down."

If a borough business requires police attention, the mayor said, "then that is not a business that we want."

Councilman Dennis Grobelny, who heads the council's public safety committee, seconded the mayor's comments.

"We will not tolerate any nonsense," Grobelny said.

A shooting that occurred at the Colosseum on May 3 gave police additional cause for concern, Szkodny said.

"The main problems occurring there were excessive noise in the [surrounding] neighborhoods, particularly in the morning hours. We had some minor reports of assaults there and other disturbance calls, such as thefts."

But the most serious concerns arose from the May 3 gunfire, he said. The incident occurred around 1:45 a.m. when someone in the Colosseum parking lot reportedly fired shots at an unoccupied car and fled the scene before police arrived.

Szkodny said police were called when the shooting occurred, but at the time did not find any evidence of the gunshots. Police, who cleared the scene, also received information that firecrackers were set off.

A patron of the club whose car was fired upon contacted police the next day, Szkodny said. Police do not think that the individual was the target of the shots.

The vehicle, which was hit by two bullets, was examined and processed at police headquarters, he said. No injuries were reported in the incident, which occurred minutes before the club's closing time of 2 a.m.

"Since January 2006, we saw an increased level of calls for police service to the Colosseum for various types of calls, where prior to that there were not very many calls there," Szkodny said.

The Colosseum was ordered to shut down immediately on May 4 after police gathered additional evidence at the scene, the chief said. Police determined that the current operation of the club posed a danger to the community and had become a public nuisance.

After the four-day period of closure, the Colosseum was allowed to reopen. Szkodny said that a meeting was held between police and the owners of the four largest clubs in the borough to discuss the conditions that all of the clubs would meet.

"The conditions are quite restrictive," Szkodny said. "We are going to enforce them to the best of our ability and we are going to monitor all liquor licenses. If needed, we will make additional recommendations to the mayor and council for any type of action we may feel appropriate."

The Colosseum faced charges from the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office at the recommendation of borough police in light of the shooting incident in May, as well as a riot and another shooting at the club last year.

The four clubs agreed to comply with all of the requests of law enforcement Tuesday at the liquor license hearing.

The Colosseum agreed to hire a professional security agency to conduct an evaluation of the operation at the police department's request.

Police will monitor the situation, looking for repeated problems with various issues ranging from parking and litter to violent disturbances, Szkodny said. More conditions may be recommended to the council.

"We will provide them with police reports to back that up," Szkodny said. "The mayor and council have the authority to attach conditions, even at mid-year. It does not have to be done at licensing time."

Club Abyss will be shut down for five days later this summer due to a violent disturbance that occurred in the parking lot involving a large number of patrons, and a separate stabbing incident that resulted in a serious injury last year.

Club Deko and Club Abyss, which are across Route 35 from each other, are owned by the same family, Szkodny said. Security personnel were overwhelmed by the number of people fighting in one disturbance at Club Abyss in April 2006, he said. Also, security personnel were difficult to distinguish from patrons, since they were not in uniform attire that could be readily identified.

Police from South Amboy, Perth Amboy and Old Bridge reported to the Club Abyss to assist borough police in quelling the disturbance, and six arrests were made. Two of the suspects kicked windows out of borough patrol cars while being detained. Another individual who was found unconscious at the scene required the services of the Morgan First Aid Squad.

That incident was a significant reason for the police department's recommendation that the four large clubs have uniform orange and black shirts and identification for security personnel.

"One of the biggest problems upon police arrival was that security staff were not clearly identified," Szkodny said.

"All of them accepted the conditions and we are going to see if they adhere to those," he added. "We are going to monitor the situation closely."

The governing body did not renew the liquor license of Johnny G's, Embroidery Street, since there are still forms that the business needs to fill out to renew the license. The bar was served with charges related to complaints from neighboring residents regarding noise, parking issues and litter on May 31. The establishment has not responded to the charges, according to officials.

The council set up a hearing for Johnny G's on Aug. 6 at 6:30 p.m. If the business does not apply for an interim permit, it will have to close by midnight of June 30, according to Borough Attorney Brian Hak.

The Colosseum and Club Abyss are currently reviewing the entertainment styles that they are providing, Szkodny said. He added that borough officials and police recall the shooting death that occurred at the now-defunct Krome club in 2004, which resulted in the business being shut down.

"We learned a lot from our response to Krome," Szkodny said. "We are going to do our best to prevent that from happening again."