Police presence will increase in Walnut Park and on Euclid Avenue during Friday’s MayFest.

The Department of Public Safety and Syracuse Police Department will take a strict enforcement approach regarding city ordinances and New York state laws, said Tony Callisto, chief of DPS.

MayFest 2010 has been sanctioned by the university and relocated from Euclid Avenue to Walnut Park, which will be split into three sections for beer and students over 21, concerts, and food and non-alcoholic beverages. Upon the announcement of MayFest plans, Mayor Stephanie Miner e-mailed a letter to students living off campus that said there would be an increased number of police officers along Euclid Avenue and surrounding streets.

“We have gone out of our way to inform our students of the ordinances that the city will be enforcing that day,” said Thomas Wolfe, senior vice president and dean of student affairs. “We’ve been very intentional making sure students are well informed.”

Both SPD and DPS will watch streets normally patrolled by DPS’ Orange Watch for any violations of local ordinances. There will also be a significant increase in officers, including walking and roving vehicle patrols, Callisto said.

“It’s not uncommon between Syracuse Police and DPS to have eight or nine officers in the neighborhood areas,” he said. SPD usually has two patrol cars on duty, and DPS usually has six Orange Watch units on duty over weekends. The Orange Watch usually provides additional DPS presence on North and South campuses, as well as neighborhoods in north and east Syracuse.

City ordinance violations include excessive noise, open containers of alcoholic beverages and nuisance parties, which cover disorderly conduct, selling or providing alcohol to minors, littering, and loitering in the streets, according to a list of city ordinances Callisto provided to The Daily Orange.

SPD and DPS will also penalize students for underage drinking and any violation of New York state laws, such as traffic laws, Callisto said. If any student breaks these laws, officers will file judicial complaints. This includes any student who appears to be drunk on his or her way to Walnut Park, in which case officers will call medical personnel for immediate evaluation, Callisto said.

The ordinances against open containers and noise are most likely to be broken, and partying on Euclid Avenue will be very limited due to noise ordinance, Callisto said.

If a defendant pleads guilty for violations of city ordinances, he or she can either perform community service or pay a fine up to $500, according to the website of Syracuse Community Treatment Court, a branch of the fifth Judicial District of Syracuse City Court that hears cases of city ordinance violations.

Daniel Kanter, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences who lives on Euclid Avenue, said he is not intimidated by the increase in police forces or the enforcement of local ordinances.

“As long as you’re overage, it shouldn’t be a problem,” he said. “I’m not really worried about it. I think it’ll be like it is every year.”

But other students who live on Euclid, such as Mark Vyzas, a senior psychology major, said they are concerned about the actions police will take.

“I’m a little concerned about unnecessary arrests just to prove a point and just to scare kids away from having fun,” Vyzas said.

Chestnut Security, the same security used at every Syracuse University event, will also be located at every entrance of Walnut Park, checking for SU or State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry school identification.

Chestnut Security will also check government-issued IDs at the entrance for those over 21 who wish to drink beer. Validity of the IDs will be checked with a scanner to ensure no student under 21 attempts to enter the area with a fake ID, said Neal Casey, a coordinator of the event. Ronald Falise, the president and owner of Chestnut Security, said he could not comment about Chestnut’s involvement without the permission of SPD or DPS.

Students 21 and older also cannot leave the designated beer area with a beer in hand. According to the map located on the MayFest website, there will be two 21-and-over entrances with one exit and three under-21 entrances.

“They will have enough security at the event as required by safety purposes to prevent students from leaving the beer area with a drink,” Casey said.

Backpacks, weapons, fireworks, illegal substances, food and beverages, and pets will not be allowed, according to the MayFest website.

Although classes will still be held Friday, students cannot bring backpacks into the perimeters of the event, Casey said. There is no place to keep backpacks for those who bring them, he said.

Despite student discontent regarding the relocation of MayFest, Casey said there are students who are interested and looking forward to the day. He expects it to be a successful event.

Callisto also said he thinks students will have a good time at Walnut Park.

“The people on Facebook will likely have a much better time just going down to Walnut.”

 

Published on April 28, 2010 at 12:00 pm

Contact Laurence: lgleveil@syr.edu | @lgleveille