Twp. warns bar to bottle up noise at annual party
Cinco de Mayo event at Bandito's has generated many complaints in past

FILE PHOTO This year's Cinco de Mayo celebration at Bandito's, which is scheduled for Saturday, will come with a set of rules and conditions placed upon it by the township.

SOUTH BRUNSWICK - Determined not to relive the flood of noise complaints of previous years, officials are holding the bar Bandito's to a strict set of conditions for its annual Cinco de Mayo party.

Last week, the Township Council voted to link permission for the bar to hold a large outdoor party with a set of 10 conditions, mostly dealing with noise and crowd control. Bandito's is located on Route 1 near the Home Depot and Stop & Shop.

The first three are different components of the same condition, which mandates the presence of a certified noise specialist at the event who will periodically take readings to make sure the levels comply with township requirements. The fourth condition says that the bar needs to construct a temporary fence 144 feet long and 61 feet wide, which will be taken down no later than the following Monday. The fifth demands that uniformed police officers, two in the day and six in the evening, be present and that they be paid the quasi-due rate, which is lower than overtime but higher than officers' regular salary, at the expense of the bar.

The sixth requirement is that there shall be no more than 50 people in the outdoor area, including those employed by Bandito's. The seventh condition clarifies that the permit is only for 2-10 p.m. The eighth says that no amplification equipment can be used outside before or after the aforementioned times. The last two simply restate that other local, state and federal laws still apply as well.

While the bar's management has agreed to cooperate with the township to reduce noise, it took issue with one of the conditions during the council's May 1 meeting. It is the 50-person maximum that one of the co-owners of the bar, Jim Allen, took issue with. Allen said that the 50-guest outdoor limit is extremely unrealistic, especially in light of the additional costs the bar is undertaking. He wondered aloud how anyone could possibly recoup those costs with only 50 patrons.

"I'm hiring police. I'm hiring noise guys. I'm spending an awful amount of money to make things right with the town," said Allen, who also asked the council to note that the event will last only eight hours and is once a year.

Deputy Mayor Carol Barrett said that the conditions are a response to an annual problem of noise from the celebration. The council discussed the event's noise level at length last year as well, with Barrett saying people could hear the party from Whispering Woods, located across the street.

"It has nothing to do with where I live. It has to do with residents of South Brunswick getting tired of the shenanigans there," Barrett said. "There were calls from people who live for two miles around."

To further emphasize her point, she told Allen that she actually slept through the party noise last year because she had taken a sleeping pill and that she plans to do the same thing this year as well.

Bandito's, which is under different management than in past years, will gladly comply with the other conditions the township has placed on it for the party. Citing a desire to do as much as possible to ease concerns about the event, general manager John Barbely said that they had even asked for the uniformed officers to be there, with the township specifying only how many. In addition, the establishment will have private security staff on hand as well as a professional to monitor occupancy levels. He said that the event should be safe and fun for everyone.

According to Township Attorney Don Sears, the only recourse the owners of Bandito's has is with the state's Alcoholic Beverage Control Division, though getting an appeal on such short notice might be difficult.

"Fifty people - I would have been better off if you wished we didn't have [the party] at all," Allen said.

- Chris Gaetano