How does Abilene get to have bands outside every night of the week in downtown Rochester? I’m not complaining, I’m just wondering. When New Math rehearsed in the Cox building on Saint Paul, we would get complaints from people all over downtown. Maybe it was our music. Anyway I’m happy to listen to bands out back at Abilene’s and I can only guess that there is just nobody around in this part of town to complain.
Nobody that is, except the NV clubgoers and the over the top securtity team from the hip hop club around the corner. These guys look like the Guardia Civil in Franco’s day. White chunky skinheads with pirate style hats, radios and handcuffs hanging off their belts. There were about fifteen of them out in front of Abilene the other night. I didn’t know whether to feel safe or be afraid.
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There’s a social network now for Abilene:
http://abilenerochester.ning.com
Abilene’s and the Cox building are both in what is now zoned as the Central City District (CCD). According to the Zoning laws both these places are allowed to have music 24 hours a day as long as it doesn’t violate the decibel limits set for the zone. From 7 A.M. -10 P.M. this is 30 minutes at 65 dB or 15 minutes at 70 dB. Then from 10 P.M. – 7 A.M. it’s 60 dB and 65 dB respectively. I think this means that someone, usually a police officer, would stand at the property line for 15 or 30 minutes with his dB meter and see if it averages within these guidelines. I have no idea how loud 60 dB is, but judging from the Jazz Festival and East End events this can be fairly loud. For outdoor performances, strictly speaking the concession is supposed to get a special use permit, but I don’t think this is enforced too rigorously unless the City gets a complaint.