Sporadic fights at the Regal Cinema's Culver-Ridge Plaza move theater last Friday night have the Irondequoit community demanding action. The theater is supposed to release a new security plan by Thursday, says an
article in today's Democrat and Chronicle.
Of course, the matter is also becoming an election issue. Sitting Republican Supervisor Mary Joyce D'Aurizio and Democratic challenger Adam Bello have exchanged statements on the situation.
In a press release sent out yesterday, Bello said that D'Aurizio needs to act immediately to make sure to prevent future incidents at the theater. He said that the town should force the theater to implement a teen curfew and, if it doesn't, he said that D'Aurizio should use the town code, "which provides for the protection of our residents from disorderly and dangerous behavior" to shut the theater down.
In the D and C article, D'Aurizio said that implementing a curfew would be a lengthy process and that Bello's demand shows a lack of familiarity with the political process. That may be the case for a townwide curfew, Bello said, but he's only talking about a curfew for the theater.
Bello's curfew idea is not unprecedented. After widespread complaints about teen behavior at Greece Ridge Mall, the mall's owner, Wilmorite, implemented a teen curfew, though they call it a
Parental Escort Program. After 4 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, the mall does not allow young people under age 19 in the mall unless they are accompanied by a parent, guardian, aunt, uncle, or grandparent. There are exceptions, and after the curfew, teens can be in businesses with their own exterior entrance, including the mall's movie theater.