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The Northampton License Commission told the manager of The Elevens on Tuesday that what goes for Tully O'Reilly's bar goes for him, denying his request to exempt The Elevens from a ban on disc jockeys.

(Don Treeger / The Republican [file])

NORTHAMPTON — The License Commission told the manager of The Elevens on Tuesday that what goes for Tully O'Reilly's bar goes for him, denying his request to exempt The Elevens from a ban on disc jockeys.

John St. Onge tried to convince the commission that the business he manages is markedly different from the adjoining bar and that disc jockeys at The Elevens differ markedly from those at Tully’s. The three commissioners remained unconvinced, however.

Earlier this month, the commission suspended the liquor license for Tully O'Reilly's and The Elevens for five days, following a violation hearing pertaining to a June 16 incident that resulted in seven arrests. Both establishments are under the same liquor and entertainment license, which is held by owner Tully McColgan.

Police Chief Russell P. Sienkiewicz requested the hearing after compiling a list of incidents in and outside the bar that demanded police response. The most recent of these was on June 16, when all on-duty Northampton police officers were called to the scene to quell disturbances outside the bar, leaving the rest of Northampton without a police presence. Easthampton police were summoned for mutual aid, so that community was left uncovered as well, according to officers who testified at the hearing.

In addition to suspending the bar's license, the commission restricted entertainment to live music and specifically prohibited the use of disc jockeys, a move that St. Onge said has hurt his business. As he described it, Tully’s and The Elevens are nearly separate entities with no common entrance on Pleasant Street and no internal access from one to the other.

“If you get a stamp from us, you’ve got to come through the front and pay a cover,” he said prior to the meeting. “That’s how we ensure the artists get paid.”

St. Onge told the commission that 97 percent of the entertainment at The Elevens is live music. When there is a disc jockey, he said, the presentation is different than a DJ show at Tully’s.

“It’s a huge genre of music,” he said. “We’ve never had the kind of show at The Elevens that they have at Tully’s.”

Chairman William Rosen wasn’t buying it.

“The narrative we got is that many of the problems were associated with disc jockeys,” he told St. Onge. “It’s a one license premise. We can’t separate the two.”

Sienkiewicz told The Republican the issue was so clear that he was told his presence was not required at Tuesday’s hearing. At the violation hearing, he told the commissioners that Tully O'Reilly's has been a chronic problem for his force. He said there have been 181 calls to that address in the last two years, resulting in 52 arrests. No other bar in the city had half those numbers, according to the chief.

Commissioners Stephanie Levin and Brian Campedelli suggested that St. Onge speak directly to Sienkiewicz if he thinks he has a case on a show-by-show basis.

“Talk to him, then come and see us,” Campedelli said.

St. Onge said he will abide by whatever decision the police make.

“Whatever they advise me, I’m going to do,” he said.