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Police busy at Tuesday's Artpark concert

by jmaloni
Fri, Jul 13th 2012 11:15 pm

by Terry Duffy

Area law enforcement agencies had their hands full Tuesday night, as a larger than expected crowd for the Sublime with Rome concert at Artpark resulted in scores of arrests, many of them on Village of Lewiston streets.

According to reports from the New York State Park Police, Lewiston Police, Niagara County Sheriff's Office and New York State Police, more than 150 combined arrests took place from the crowd estimated at approximately 10,000.

While not at capacity in the reconfigured Artpark amphitheater that now holds roughly 12,000, the Sublime concert was still about 20 percent larger than officials with Artpark & Company had expected for the show.

Parks Police reported issuing 65 appearance tickets for various alcohol-related offenses. Notables were one driving while intoxicated arrest and one for trespassing involving a concertgoer who had attempted to enter the Artpark facility through a fence without paying and then fled.

The vast majority however, were for Alcohol Beverage Control violations involving possession of open containers - a recurring problem for Lewiston Police. "It just saps our manpower," commented LPD justice clerk Lisa Rizzo, who said that while LPD officers issued appearance tickets for Lewiston Town Court to all open container violators, it also results in increased paperwork for patrols.

All total, Lewiston Police logged 68 arrests related to Tuesday's Sublime concert, including for open container violations on village streets, public lewdness, trespassing and driving while intoxicated. LPD also reported issuing 36 tickets for parking violations. Other reported arrests by agencies involved covering the concert were for illegal possession of alcohol, disorderly conduct and drug-related offenses.

From roughly 5:30 to just after 8 p.m., LPD reported the following open container arrests:

•South Seventh and Seneca streets, a male, 24; Tuscarora and South Seventh streets, a male, 23, and a female, 24; South Seventh Street, three males, ages 26, 27 and 27, and a female, 25; Center and North First streets, two females, ages 22 and 29; 700 block of South Seventh Street, four males, ages 25, 24, 31 and 46, and three females, two age 28 and one 48; and the 700 block of Center Street, three males, ages 20, 19 and 23, and three females, ages 19, 21 and 19.

•Also, 700 block of Cayuga Street, a male, 41; Water Street, two males, ages 22 and 21; Center Street at Robert Moses Parkway, a male, 33; Seneca Street, two males, both age 25, a female, 29, and two males, ages 32 and 31; South Seventh Street, seven males, ages, 31, 33, 27, 22, 22, 21 and 30, and a female, 26; Seneca Street, two males, both 23; South Eighth St., two males, ages 27 and 25; Seneca Street, two males, ages, 30 and 27; South Seventh Street, four males, ages 40, 28, 29 and 27; Seneca Street, three males ages, 24, 23, 23 and a female, 23; and Niagara Street, two males, ages 22 and 24.

By comparison, Lewiston Police have logged just a handful of open container arrests at other Artpark Tuesdays thus far this year, and about 20 for a Tokyo Police Club show. All agencies pointed to the popularity of Sublime with Rome with younger audiences as the primary reason for the spike in arrests.

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