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The Price Of Success In Clarendon
Clarendon, once Arlington's downtown, has experienced a resurgence with popular shops, restaurants and bars.
(By Andrea Bruce Woodall -- The Washington Post)
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Parking is another contentious issue for patrons and neighborhood residents. Once, for example, two motorists were vying for the same spot on one of the neighborhood streets, where parking is free and legal, when they hit each other, Weinress said. Another time, a motorist parked in front of a homeowner's driveway, angering the man who lives there.
"We're not anti-entertainment or against having these bars in the neighborhood. We frequent them, too," Weinress said, adding that he frequented the bars in Georgetown as a college student and no doubt did some of the same things that now irk him and his neighbors. "This is a lively area, and it's lots of fun. . . . What we want is just more of a police presence so that maybe when the patrons walk out, they will be a little calmer."
Police said the ear-biting incident, which occurred near Mister Days in the 3100 block of Washington Boulevard, is not indicative of the calls to which officers respond on weekends in Clarendon. Although calls for service are up slightly in the neighborhood compared with elsewhere in the county over the past three years, overall crime is still falling, police said. Most of the calls to which officers respond involve nuisance issues such as traffic and noise, police officials said.
Officials said more police resources are deployed to Clarendon on the weekends, with additional officers assigned to the area when the bars close. In addition, police officers work with the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control and bar owners in special operations to check for underage drinkers, to make sure IDs are being checked and to ensure that no one is being over-served, officials said.
Other neighborhood establishments have worked with residents to resolve complaints. After neighbors complained about drunk and rowdy patrons of Whitlow's on Wilson walking the quiet residential streets after closing time, Whitlow's agreed to hire an off-duty police officer on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.
The officer costs the bar about $37,000 a year, said Freeman of the Clarendon Alliance. And as the neighborhood and business district evolve, other bar owners are worried that they also will have to pay for off-duty officers if residents continue to complain, she said.
The question of who should pay for the extra resources -- should the county task force determine that more officers are needed -- is among the many the working group needs to address, residents and bar owners said.
"To some degree, many folks are long past the 'last straw' and just accept that stuff is going to happen," Weinress said. "It's containing it, keeping it from getting worse and trying to improve the situation that are the top of the agenda. For this, we need regular, frequent and unbiased reviews of permits, open discussions with businesses and the county, and the help of some off-duty officers to keep an eye on things and enforcement of the rules."
