The Pearl DARTed by COJ / JSO

[riverside planner]

The DART process is clearly broken. 

A couple of years back, I was trying to get the slumlord-owned crackhouse next door dealt with through the DART process to no avail.  Known drug user living there?  Check.  Known prostitute living there?  Check.  Code violations?  I'm sure since the property owner never pulled a permit for anything.  Record of police calls for offenses ranging from domestic violence, drunk & disorderly, and late night parties?  Check.  (BTW, at least one of these visits resulted in an arrest for possession of a decent quantity of weed.)  Despite all of this and the fact that we offered the police videotaped evidence of drug activity occurring across the street from an elementary school, nothing ever happened.  In fact, the cops we dealt with weren't the least bit interested in our video. 

Apparently hipster nightclubs are a bigger threat to our community.   

[mrmakersmark]

Yes, on the night that TSI re-opened, The Pearl gets DARTed.  Ironic how that happens.  It probably has nothing to do with the former tenants of 1101 N Main being TSI and still bitter that they cannot conduct a proper business.  No drugs or underage kids served during the raid, just 2 kids cited for stealing someone's beer.  Pitiful TSI.

[jaxlore]

there have been at least 6 or so clubs raided  by dart in a short period of time, i really don't think tsi is the culprit, you have our wonder city of jacksonville to thank for this crap.

I will say this if i was a club owner that caters to any sort of fringe culture crowd I'd be getting my p's and q's in order because except for plush and venue there seems to be a trend growing here and the club scene here doesn't need any more closings.

[Bewler]

sorry to say that I don't agree with you, a crowded nightclub with violations like this is a tragedy in the making, there have been many cases of fires in places like this with multiple deaths and injuries, we really wouldn't want that to happen

That may be true but why such an overreaction? The problem everyone has with this is how excessive they’re being. This is an extreme example but say something along the lines of the LA riots happened here in Jacksonville. Would you want the majority of your police force out busting underage parties and writing tickets to speeders while the incident is taking place? You take care of what is most urgent then deal with other problems. That doesn’t mean that they should just totally ignore the issues at the Pearl, but what we would all like to see is the energy that they are putting into shutting it down be directed towards something more pressing.

[Lunican]

Typically code violations are usually dealt with by code inspectors and fire marshalls, not storm troopers.

I also thought they had to have a significant amount of evidence of drug activity in order to do a DART raid.

[jbm32206]

There's workers there and it should be reopened if not tonight, soon

[Jennyk]

To clear up all the rumors and speculations, please read the latest Jaxscene post with info from Ricky and Justin about what really happened.

http://jaxscene.blogspot.com/2008/09/pearl-closed-till.html

[Driven1]

i would match up this horrible "destroy downtown development" policy with the following:

despicable pedestrian planning and walkability of the city.

one of the worst rankings in the U.S. for friendliness to cyclists.

poor maintenance of parks.

17th worst graduation rate in the nation (.1% above New York City; about 1 out of every 2 students graduate).

high incidence or road rage due to excessive travel on roads within the city b/c the city is so spread out.

violent crime capital of Florida.

ignoring mass transit planning/options year after year after year.

extremely poor civic leadership that is paralyzed and infested with behind-closed-doors deals and the good ole boy network.


and you start to understand why this city...
a) has gone nowhere
b) will continue going nowhere

you know...we used to say:  "Jacksonvillians just have low self-esteem.  They need to be more proud of their city."  now we see why.

[brainstormer]

The truth makes me even more furious.  I don't understand why our city government has to waste money and resources on these stupid raids.  They only alienate the public, business owners and those of us working to revitalize this city.  If the sheriff and mayor really want us to work together to solve our crime issues then they need to start trusting us and allowing people to step up and be responsible.  Code violations should be addressed and fixed, but a visit to the building on a Monday afternoon and an opportunity to fix the violations isn't too much to ask is it?  In my opinion they are abusing their authority and way out of line.  The owner of the Pearl is a wonderful person.  She is allowing the Springfield Garden Community to use part of her property for free!  What other business in this city is allowing citizens to grow food on it's property?  Why must we treat her like a piece of shit owner running a shady business.  The Pearl always has strict ID enforcement and is very good about kicking obnoxious people out when the time comes.  I'm so glad DART went under cover, and the police refused to do training until after they raided the place.  This city is really working hard to make me leave!

[Jennyk]

Good point brainstormer, regarding the community garden.  Christy is a wonderful person who has poured her heart into this club and her community.  She posted a comment on urbanjacksonville.info tonight: (#40 & 41)
http://www.urbanjacksonville.info/2008/09/12/another-one-bites-the-dust-the-pearl-darted-by-cojjso/#comments

[walter]

I'm sorry but this is classic Jacksontucky!  for years this place (the Pearl) was a seedy dive that sold shots of white lightning for a buck from behind the bar and not once did it get targeted for a stormtrooper style raid.  But when a reputable owner comes in, renovates the place and turns it into a popular nightspot, then it gets raided for a few code violations and reports of "underage drinking".  Wow, I'm not even sure there is one establishment in this entire city that is free from underagers getting served from time to time.  Even seen it at prominent local country club that I'm known to frequent.

Yep, this city would much rather have a blighted urban core.  One that contributes little to the tax base.  This way they can whine and moan about revenue shortfalls and actually have excuses for crime and whatnot.  Remember this city is bought and paid for by suburban developers who have absolutely no interest in bringing people downtown.  They need people buying new homes in their developments and they need people buying 'moveups', mcmansions.  The urban core is nothing but a thorn in their side here in Jacksontucky.

[JaxNole]

I wish they would have done this during the Super Bowl or any Florida-Georgia game.

[City Slicker]

I am trying, but I find it hard to understand what all the ruckus is about.  There are sensible valid reasons for most of the things cited in all the above postings.  The Pearl, and any other business, should be shut down if they are putting the lives of their patrons on the line.  Not to mention all the properties surrounding them.  If the violations actually led to a massive fire, would there be this outrage?  If the fire caused the unnecessary death of someone there, would there be this outrage?  Is it against the law for underage drinking in this and any other type of establishment?  If your son or daughter were there would you want that to happen?  If they were breaking the law, they should be shut down until they can safely bring the property back online.

I think the right thing was done here.  If you really think about it and not take it as a misguided attempt to rid the city of these "legitimate nightlife establishments", then you might agree. 

[Ernest Street]

And "The Lighthouse" seems to be shining farther into Springfield every day....

[BridgeTroll]

City Slicker.

They really arent endangering the lives of their customers.

Any one of the problems listed would have taken an hour to fix at most.

But closing them down means that they will have to pay in the tens (and sometimes hundreds) of thousands in lost revenue and expenses in order to reopen.

All of these 'inspections' can be done under the light of day.

When they do stuff like this, its intended to make a statement.

I agree... if these were simple violations they could have inspected during non business hours, issued a "fix it ticket", give the business 7 or 30 days(hell you pick the term) and if not complied with THEN shut it down.  The underage drinkers were not served by the establishment they had gotten them using their own deviousness.