Louis Lee Sing said there have been many complaints from people living in St James about the business places that remain open until three in the morning in some instances.
Lee Sing made the statements Thursday at the statutory meeting of the Port-of-Spain Corporation.
He added that businesses that are applying to renew bar licences would have to change their opening hours to ensure that they close earlier. The mayor said he wants no more drinking in bars after midnight.
“All of this is to assist in the reduction of hardship to residents,” he added. In addition Lee Sing said he plans to move all food vendors in St James and Woodbrook off the streets. “We will be converting the St James Market to a food court,” he said.
While the mayor gave the assurance that bar owners are in agreement with his plans the feedback from St James contradicts that.
Local media interviews bar owners suggest that the business are concerned that the mayor's plans will cause job losses and reduce revenues.
One bar owner told the Trinidad Guardian, “If the mayor gets through with his suggestion, the impact will be disastrous...The bars cannot possibly survive up until the midnight hour.”
The concern is that staff would have to be laid off and businesses, which have invested heavily, would run into financial difficulty by the mayor “unfair and unjust” proposals.
The business people suggested that the plan is not feasible and predicted "thousands" will be out of work, with the ripple effect being a significant loss of tax revenues for the city of Port of Spain. They say closing the bars early will not reduce crime.
1 comment:
Congratulations to the Mayor on this initiative. I am waitng to see what will happen in Chaguanas. It seems that as the Chinese fast foods proliferate the pubs are increasing, leading to carnage on the roads.
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