I’m at Booty’s in the Bywater, drinking a frozen daiquiri. If I take it outside, I’ll be breaking the law.So far all I've seen is shoulder shrugging. Whenever a city official is quoted, we get, "Go-cups have always been illegal" or some such Orwellian bullcrap. It's obviously a current point of emphasis. It must be someone's idea and that someone must have a reason. I'd like to hear who and what that is.
The city has recently targeted the go-cup in this neighborhood, making its ban a condition for restaurants opening. More established joints aren’t immune, either – in March, as part of its punishment for music violations, the city stopped St. Roch Tavern from using go-cups.
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Where is this coming from?
A few of us have been asking for several months now about the source of the city's crackdown on go-cups.
I'm asking myself the same questions. Time for me to start digging.
ReplyDelete1. "...breaking the law." No, you won't. The link is to a conditional use permit for a restaurant/bar. It has nothing to do with an individual's right to drink on the street in New Orleans.
ReplyDelete2. "recently targeted the go-cup in this neighborhood, making its ban a condition for restaurants opening" - First, that link is to a 2010 permit application, so it depends on your definition of recent. Second, I just called The Joint, which opened at its nearby location well since 2010, and they say they hand out go-cups to anyone who wants them (though they say most people don't ask for them). So banning go-cups is not a condition for restaurants opening in that area of the Bywater.
3. "more established joints aren't immune" -- The city did indeed allow St. Roch Tavern to reopen under a whole bunch of provisos, one of which was no go-cups. However, I've gotten go-cups at nearby places like the Hi-Ho, Kajun's, Gene's, John Paul's and (I believe but can't swear to it) AllWays. Hell, Gene's is nothing BUT go-cups.
I think it is indeed someone's idea that you're hearing all about it this week, but I don't think it's a government official… after all, why would City Hall WANT you to talk about it if they were trying to pull a fast one? Wouldn't they prefer to keep it hush-hush?
More to the point, who might want you to talk about it, spend money on it, buy T-shirts with it, etc.?
I'm aware of the various problems with the way that Where Y'at article handles the facts. And I realize there's some hype around this that benefits the daiquiri event you're talking about. I probably should have said so when I posted this link.
ReplyDeleteI didn't, though, because 1) I already understand the way the background as it relates to the St.Roch Tavern situation and also the recent agreement the city planning commission reached with Siberia which Gambit reported on last year.
CPC recommended approval of the zoning change, but subject to 14
provisos, including installing wooden gates along its alleyways,
limiting signage, ending music at 2 a.m., prohibiting "go" cups,
providing 10 off-street parking spots (by forming agreements with
neighboring businesses), and creating a trash abatement program, which
Loney said the bar already has coordinated.
At that time, in full understanding of the context, I asked why "prohibiting go cups" should be among the requirements here.
This week, I and a whole bunch of other people asked the same question. In response we were scolded by Alex Woodward for reacting hysterically to some conspiracy theory.
No one was doing anything of the sort. We just want someone to explain why go-cups keep popping up as an issue in these neighborhood agreements. To me it seems like a bad idea.
The fact that this point is being exploited by some festival promoters, while lame, is kind of beside the point.
For the record Jeremy the promoter actually cares about this issue, which is one reason he started the festival in the last few years since go-cups have become an issue. Obv it's very easy to see him as opportunistic, and all the hype surely benefitted him in some way (not in profits, not yet at least) but I vouch for his sincerity. He cares just like the rest of us, but then also took a step to raise awareness. Were it not for his festival, maybe no one would have started talking publicly about an issue which we all clearly care about.
ReplyDelete