North Wildwood Bar Owners Battle Underage Drinking

NORTH WILDWOOD – Dozens of bar owners and bartenders gathered here Friday, May 15 to introduce a new effort to keep underage drinkers out of their establishments.
On the waterfront site of Westy’s Irish Pub at Olde New Jersey and Walnut avenues just a week before the Memorial Day weekend unofficial start of the summer tourist season, the local and state Tavern Owners Associations, and North Wildwood Mayor Bill Henfey joined forces in an afternoon press conference to send a strong, “zero tolerance” message to underage drinkers with their new “Check Yourself” public awareness campaign.
The campaign will feature posters, print and radio advertisements and includes a litany of penalties that will be enforced by the state.
Jack Keenan, president of the city’s Tavern Owner’s Association and owner of Keenan’s Irish Pub, said the campaign was primarily educational.
“We want to educate young adults that it’s not worth it to try to get into bars if they’re not 21,” Keenan said. He noted that they would face a six-month loss of driver’s license, a $1,200 fine and a criminal record, which they would have to report on job and student loan applications.
This measure comes after Keenan’s was forced to close last September during the city’s hugely popular Irish Festival by the state Division of Alcohol Beverage Control for serving underage drinkers.
A release stated that this major new effort is in response to the increasing incidences of underage drinking during the summer months, a serious problem made even more difficult by the easy access to technologically sophisticated fake IDs or fraudulent IDs that often make detection challenging, if not impossible.
“We are unified and committed to doing everything in our collective power to put an end to underage drinking in our establishments,” said Keenan.
“All of us, Keenan’s included, were victimized last summer by underage kids who gained entry either through professionally produced counterfeit driver’s licenses or real licenses owned by their similar-looking siblings or friends. We’ve had enough, which is why we are banding together to show the seriousness of our intent and to warn underage drinkers, their parents, and siblings that we will go after them to the fullest extent provided by law. We are also sending a clear message to law enforcement and the ABC that we want to work in partnership with them to put an end to this dangerous and unwanted Jersey shore tradition.”
Scott Keenan, a partner in Keenan’s, showed examples of fake and fraudulent IDs collected at the bar, which are virtually undistinguishable from valid IDs.
In addition to local owners, a statewide organization supports the North Wildwood program.
“We stand behind the city’s licensees in their efforts to combat underage drinking,” said Mike Marsh, treasurer of the New Jersey Tavern Owners Association.
The municipality has also backed local bar owners in this effort.
“This City has always been proactive in enforcing under age drinking laws. But, with the technology that young people have today at their disposal makes it very difficult for our tavern owners to distinguish between a true ID and a false one,” North Wildwood Mayor Bill Henfey said.
“This stringent and more unified effort between the city and the Tavern Owners Association is being put forth to educate our young adult residents and visitors that producing a False ID is a serious offense in New Jersey.”
“If you’re under 21, please do not drink because we will be checking,” Henfey added.
According to the release, in addition to the “Check Yourself” public awareness campaign, tavern owners have purchased state-of-the-art handheld ID verifiers and are training staff in the use of this technology that can detect fake IDs. Also, the participating tavern owners have hired additional security personnel who are required to undergo training in how to spot fake IDs and to notify police as soon as an underage drinker is caught trying to enter the establishment.
The problem of underage drinking is not New Jersey’s alone.
Tavern owners’ spokesman Frank Keel said it’s not only a public awareness campaign, but also a public safety campaign noting that Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD) estimated nationally that nearly 11 million young people between the ages of 12 and 20 years old drink alcohol.
“We are extremely serious about this effort,” concluded Jack Keenan. “Contrary to what some people might think, we do not want underage kids in our bars. It’s illegal, it’s dangerous for the kids who attempt it, and it puts our businesses at risk. Part of our message here today is that preventing underage drinking is a shared responsibility. We, the bar owners, are doing our part. We are trying to drive home the message to young people that they need to check themselves before they attempt illegal entry into our bars, because we will take every measure to detect fake and fraudulent IDs and report the offenders to the police, without exceptions.
“We also understand that, due to budget cuts and the multiple demands on their time, our police departments are stretched thin, but they also play a critical role in the success of this effort,” Keenan added.
“When we identify an underage drinker and confiscate his or her fraudulent ID, it’s important that the police respond to the scene as soon as possible. Otherwise, that young person disappears into the night and probably acquires a new fake ID the very same night or the next day…but if we work hand-in-hand with the authorities and get this ‘zero tolerance’ message out far and wide, we believe we can seriously curtail underage drinking at our establishments and keep young people out of arm’s way.”