MAYOR DUFFY ANNOUNCES NEW CRACKDOWN ON UNLAWFUL HOUSE PARTIES (06/20/07)

Mayor Robert J. Duffy today announced a new strategy to identify and stop unlawful house parties before they begin and to crack down on owners and tenants of residences which conduct these unlawful gatherings.

"This community has had enough of these unlawful and often violent house parties and we will use the full force of law and the diligence of the Rochester Police Department to shut these down," said Mayor Duffy. "We have already identified and terminated several parties before they started and will take action against the owners and tenants of the premises which have held such parties."

The new strategy has two major components. The first is early detection of parties and stopping them before they begin. The second component addresses parties that have already occurred by authorizing strict enforcement measures. These measures include:

  - The voiding of the Certificate of Occupancy
  - Vacating of the premises

These tough measures are justified under state law and the zoning and property codes of the City of Rochester to address the improper use of a residences as a nightclub or commercial establishment. Potential violations include, zoning violations, over-occupancy, service or consumption of alcohol without a license, service or consumption of alcohol by minors and drug possession or use.

The new plan uses various investigative tools to alert police to the plan for such a party. Once identified, the law department issues a warning letter to the property owner and/or tenant to warn them of the dangers and possible enforcement measures.  In addition, the police regularly patrol the area to prevent the party from starting.

The recent spate of unlawful house parties have several distinguishing factors that separate these events from legal parties that are held in many homes. Unlawful house parties often:

  - Are advertised;
  - Are open to the public;
  - Charge a fee to attend;
  - Charge a fee for food or beverages;
  - Occupancy is of unlawful and dangerous proportions.

Each event will be evaluated on a case by case basisto ensure legal parties, such as graduation parties and reunions, are not wrongly classified or penalized.