Katrina Daniels ([email protected])
Fri, 10 Jul 1998 12:23:40 -0500
The Boston Globe
July 9, 1998
The Paradise, a 20-year-old rock and dance club in Allston which has
featured U2, The Police, Bette Midler, Billy Joel, James Taylor, and The
Cars, has been ordered by the city to give up its entertainment license by
tomorrow, just before the start of a busy weekend for business.
The Mayor's Office of Consumer Affairs and Licensing said club officials
had allowed constant overcrowding violations. Commissioner Nancy
Lo wrote in a statement "The interest of public safety dictates that the
sanction imposed here be implemented without delay."
A spokesman for the Paradise said last night that the club is being
unfairly treated and that 163 employees at the facility and adjacent M80 club
will lose their jobs because of the decision. The club will seek a
temporary restraining order to keep open, he said.
The Paradise/M80 complex has added 5,000 square feet of space because of
reconstruction in recent years, yet has never asked for a capacity
increase, he noted.
Club officials had appeared at a hearing before the commission two months
ago to respond to complaints of overcrowding. The club's license
has been suspended before, including after an incident last fall in which
several New England Patriots, including quarterback Drew Bledsoe,
dove off the stage into a crowd, leading to a suit brought by a woman who
said she was injured.
email: [email protected]
homepage: http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Stage/5559/
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