The Daily Orange

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Marshall Street has been fairly quiet lately for the Syracuse Police Department.

Almost five months have passed since the police raided a bar on Marshall as part of Operation Prevent. But for underage students wishing to sit back, relax and enjoy an alcoholic beverage, more bar raids will come in the near future.

"This semester, you'll definitely be seeing something," said Lt. Shannon Trice of the Syracuse Police Department.

Trice has been a part of Operation Prevent since the program was first organized in 2002 when community members came together to devise a plan which they hoped would curb underage drinking in Syracuse bars by punishing those caught drinking and confiscating fake or fictitious forms of identification.

Trice said police have not conducted any raids on university-area bars in the past few months because the department has been focusing its efforts on Operation IMPACT and because the department has seen an unusually large amount of unrelated paperwork.

"We haven't had the time but we are planning raids in the near future," Trice said.

While there have not been any dramatic bar raids to add to the nightly excitement of the university's primary entertainment district, Syracuse Police said they have been monitoring bars with undercover police officers dressed in street clothes.

"We'll have one or two officers walk through a bar and ask for IDs," said Sgt. Joel Cordone of the Syracuse Police. "We've been doing that almost every weekend."

Cordone said a lack of funding was adding to the department's troubles in planning more bar raids. The Police Department is no longer receiving the initial grant money used to fund the first Operation Prevent raids. The grant expired in October 2003 and has yet to be renewed.

"It obviously put a damper on things, but the raids won't stop," he said.

Instead, the Syracuse Police is using more flexible means to pay the salaries of officers needed to conduct raids, including adjusting an officer's scheduled shift to put the officer on duty when the bar raid is planned to take place.

Cordone also admitted the Police Department would be forced to pay for the talents of some officers with overtime money, a burden he said is worth the money.

"I'm not naïve, and if it takes us 25 raids to deter someone from committing a crime, then it's worth it," Cordone said

From the start

Such optimism has been the cornerstone of Operation Prevent since the drafts of the program were first discussed three years ago. The Syracuse Area College Community Coalition gathered university-area residents, students, merchants and police to create a program that would decrease the number of underage students trying to purchase alcohol.

Operation Prevent is run by the Syracuse Police Department with the assistance of the New York State Liquor Authority and the department of Off-Campus Student Services.

Trice said most Operation Prevent raids are conducted by an outlined procedure. Police enter the bar and prohibit anyone inside from leaving. Police immediately notify the bar staff and patrons as to their intentions, ask that all the lights be turned on and then proceed to check each patron's identification as proof of their age.

"We generally issue a traffic citation or appearance ticket and take the ID," Trice said of patrons who are found to be drinking underage.

Cordone said those who are caught drinking illegally generally don't realize the charges and potential punishment they could face and said the punishment the Police Department offers is actually a deal.

"Some kids don't realize that they're committing a felony by forging an ID and that means jail time," he said. "I try to explain to them, 'Look, you're only getting a traffic violation.'"

First raid; first casualty

One part of Marshall Street has seen a significant drop in traffic ever since April 28, 2004. That was the night Operation Prevent took its first, and perhaps most notable casualty at 113 Marshall St., known to most as the former Konrad's Sports Bar.

Konrad's was officially shut down due to an Emergency Summary Order of Suspension, or the suspension of its liquor license, by the state liquor authority. However, faithful patrons didn't let the state close their favorite night spot easily.

By the time the raid was over, several police officers had been struck by intoxicated bar-goers and some university students found themselves sitting in the County Justice Center.

In October, nearby Planet 505 became the second victim of Operation Prevent when owner Joseph Riccardi suddenly closed his doors after frustration stemming from a second raid.

While Konrad's never re-opened and plans for a replacement bar seem to have abruptly ended, former owner John Cadorette still insists his bar was targeted by the Syracuse Police Department.

"Why was there such inequality in their raids?" said Cadorette, noting that Konrad's was raided four times while neighboring Darwin's was only raided twice. "I did as much as I possibly could and it wasn't good enough."

Cadorette said he took a tougher stance on underage drinking after the first raids, including using a scanner to verify patrons' IDs and installing technology allowing him to view live security camera footage from Konrad's at his home.

"Operation Prevent has now been blown away," said Cadorette. "There seems to be no more money for it now that Konrad's has closed."

Even though the Syracuse Police Department was a part of the raids, Cadorette also blames Syracuse University for trying to shut down his bar ever since the Syracuse Area College Community Coalition held its first meetings and the idea for Operation Prevent was announced.

The bar owner stopped attending the coalition's meetings, which included representatives from the university, business owners, nearby hospital officials and residents, because he disagreed with proposals he felt would hurt his business.

"I basically got sick of going to these meetings and listening to them drum up ways to make life for bar owners miserable," he said. "The university was leading the research to get grants from Albany for Operation Prevent."

Officials from the Office of Off-Campus Student Services could not be reached for comment.

Disputed figures

The Police Department said bars are chosen to be raided based on complaints from residents, neighbors and even doctors at local hospitals who were concerned over the number of drunken SU students they were treating in emergency rooms. Trice said he received complaints and tips about Konrad's which led to the raids.

"We go where the problems are," said Trice. "We're like firemen; if there's no fire, we won't be there."

Trice said Konrad's was not specifically targeted, but previous raids proved the bar was continuing to serve underage patrons, and he has the numbers to prove his case. Of more than 200 fake or fictitious IDs confiscated through campus-area bar raids from Operation Prevent over the past few years, 108 of those came from Konrad's.

Trice briefly mentioned Darwin's Restaurant and Bar, which he said was a good example of a bar owner making changes after the first raid. Trice said the Syracuse Police Department had around 25 cases of underage patrons during the first raid at Darwin's and only around two after the second raid.

But Cadorette puts a different spin on Trice's numbers, saying other bars weren't raided enough times to make fair comparisons to Konrad's.

"Don't you think that 60 percent would come from the place that you keep raiding," Cadorette said, who also disputed the claim locals were complaining about his establishment.

"Who's going to complain, Pita Pit?" he said. "That's a bunch of crap; they were getting business off of us."

Ripple effect

Local merchants agree business may be lacking with the absence of Konrad's.

"I know some businesses down the street aren't doing as well," said Joni Hamilton, owner of Hamilton's Floral Garden on Marshall Street. "Everyone's business affects everyone down here."

Hamilton said she hasn't noticed any change in business at her shop and she doesn't mind the decrease in problems she has experienced since the closing either. Hamilton mentioned instances where drunken students would vomit or urinate on her shop's front step.

"People just get out of control," she said.

Hamilton also disputed the fact that Konrad's was being targeted by the Syracuse Police Department, saying police could determine underage drinking hot spots by asking random university students.

"These kids know where to go; you don't have to be a police officer," said Hamilton.

Further down the street, Faegan's Cafe and Pub owner Jerry Dellas admitted his establishment didn't have any hard facts to back up his claim, but Marshall Street seemed quieter now that Konrad's was closed.

"There's no bar in that location now and we're not having any problems," Dellas said, who is also the president of the Crouse-Marshall Business Association. "I can't blame it all on Konrad's, but a majority of it must've been from Konrad's."

Neither Dellas nor Hamilton said they would necessarily support the idea of another bar in the location of Konrad's.

"That's the bottom line; I'd rather not see another bar there," said Hamilton.

Fighting fate?

But the merchants on the Hill may be fighting fate. The 113 Marshall St. location has been home to a bar for years, going back to the days of 44's Tavern. Like Konrad's, 44's also experienced trouble with law enforcement officials.

Recent attempts to bring the brew back to the bar's old location turned sour shortly after an announcement from businessman Joe Laxton that he would attempt to start a new sports bar named "Quarters." Since then, the "coming soon" sign has been replaced by a "for rent" sign, and white paper continues to cover the building's front windows.

Cadorette says he has no intentions of restarting a bar in Syracuse and is actually in the process of moving out of state.

"It's ridiculous trying to do business in this city," Cadorette said. "This is the most over-enforced place I've ever seen for a city of its size." Cadorette said it took 10 permits from the city of Syracuse to open his bar for business.

Though Trice, who also happens to be a Cornell University graduate, said even if he were to take off his badge and momentarily step aside from his duty to the law, he couldn't understand why a business person would try to start another bar in the Konrad's location.

"There's only a limited population in the Hill area that is over 21," Trice said. "The number of bars that are already there can't support themselves because there aren't enough people of legal age."

Trice said business owners should study the area and judge their potential customer base before starting up.

Trading places

Bar or no bar, police admit they've seen effects of Operation Prevent that weren't entirely positive, including a shift in the location of underage drinkers.

"This is cause-and-effect for Operation Prevent and we're now seeing an increase in the house parties that are taking place on campus," he said.

And with Syracuse's relatively small size as a city and the cold winter season, students said it can be difficult to have a good time with a limited social scene.

"Kids are going to drink no matter what," said Liz Rolnik, a sophomore majoring in English and textual studies. "But you can drink responsibly and stay in control of what you're doing."

Rolnik was one of 55 underage patrons who received a traffic violation on April 1, 2004, while drinking at Konrad's. She was celebrating the end of pledging season with several sorority sisters when police entered and asked for IDs. Rolnik was forced to pay a fine and complete a four-hour safety course the following summer.

While Rolnik concedes the police were only doing their job, she said local bar owners don't exactly discourage underage patrons from entering their establishments and drinking.

"If they really wanted to crack down on it, they could," she said. "They should have the bouncers stop people at the door then."

The distant locations of some house parties also make bar-hopping an attractive alternative for underage students.

"There's really nothing else to do here and it can be hard to get to house parties when the bars are right there around Marshall," said Katie Newton, a junior public relations major.

Newton knows a thing or two about party schools; she transferred to SU this year after attending the State University of New York at Albany, which was named the number one party school in last year's edition of The Princeton Review.

"People are still going to go to these bars, even if they're getting raided," she said.

Tough task to conquer

Both Cordone and Trice said they don't expect to end underage drinking but want to help teenagers make the right decisions.

"I was in college too - life is full of choices," Cordone said.

The sergeant said many students who receive violations or citations actually come up and thank him on the side after the raid and most students forget the police don't make the laws, just enforce them.

"Some people can drink underage and do it responsibly but a large amount of those people can't control themselves," Trice said.

Trice said he wishes he could devote more time and resources to underage drinking, but even though underage drinkers may dispute his efforts, he knows Operation Prevent is making a difference.

"Underage drinking is continuing and I don't know if we can ever stop it, but we have affected the drinking rates," Trice said.

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