Agency outlaws Ladies' Night
Bar chivalry dead in N.J.
By JERRY BARCA, Home News Tribune from the Web, June 3, 2004
New Jersey women are already the target of ogling and bad pick-up in lines in bars.
But it gets worse -- Ladies' Night has been outlawed.
Now, women are going to have to pay full price for drinks and admission.
The state Division of Civil Rights ruled Tuesday that Ladies' Night at a Cherry Hill bar was unlawful.
While the ruling dealt with a specific bar, it carries the force of a court decision and applies statewide.
The death of this social institution sent shockwaves from Hoboken to Belmar yesterday.
"It's a night for just us to go out," said Kaitlin Healey, 21, Milltown.
"It's insane. I'm totally shocked," said John Bonevich, an avid club-goer, whose firm, Bonsolid Promotions, runs marketing promotions for bars throughout the state.
"It's been going on long before we were all born," the 30-year-old Howell man said.
Ladies' Night is the common promotion that gives free admission and discounted drinks to women with the intent of drawing them to a bar that in turn attracts a flock of full-price paying men.
Banning the time-honored tradition even irked Gov. James E. McGreevey. "This is bureaucratic nonsense.
It is an overreaction that reflects a complete lack of common sense and good judgement," he said in a written statement.
Six years ago, David R. Gillespie filed a complaint with the state Division of Civil Rights.
He claimed it was unfair for women to get into Coastline bar and restaurant for free and buy discounted drinks while men paid $5 admission and full price for drinks.
The commercial intent of Ladies' Night does not override the "important social policy objective of eradicating discrimination," according to the decision by Division of Civil Rights Director J. Frank Vespa-Papaleo.
Judges in Pennsylvania and Iowa have said events like Ladies' Night are illegal.
But courts in Illinois and Washington have allowed the promotions because they don't discriminate against men, but serve to encourage women to attend.
In New Jersey, the Division of Civil Rights will write formal rules covering the issue after a public hearing on the issue, Vespa-Papaleo said.
The decision could radically change the social scene in New Jersey, according to Anthony Moussa, the founder of a Web site devoted to hot spots in the state.
"Guys never needed incentive to go out. Now, girls won't have the incentive," Moussa said.
The discounts, in many bars, end at a time before the place gets crowded. "The big effect I see is getting people into the clubs early in the evening," Moussa said.
Without Ladies' Night, bars could screen patrons based on appearance or clubs could let everybody in and end up like testosterone factories, Moussa said.
"Clubs survive on how many people get in and what the people (who are inside) look like," Moussa said.
For Carmen Rodriguez, 37, of Jersey City, Ladies' Night meant time for her to pamper herself by getting dressed up and going out with her friends.
"It's just hanging out with the girls. No men to bother us. No kids," she said. "Without Ladies' Night there's no night.
Deborah Jacobs, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union's New Jersey chapter, acknowledged the issue might sound silly.
But "where there are opportunities to create equality we should do so," she said.
Shawn Linn, a 22-year-old Rutgers University student from Harrington Park, fails to see the civil rights gain in banning Ladies' Night.
"I don't think this is going to elevate women any more in society," he said.
Plus, the discount nights always improved the scenery. "That's why we go to bars.
For drinks and to see ladies," he said.
The decision disappointed Shruti Basim, a senior at Rutgers, who goes to Kelly's Korner Pub & Grill, New Brunswick, because every night is Ladies' Night.
"The only reason I go there is for the specials," the 22-year-old said.
But Nikeela Salazar, 27, of Las Vegas, said New Jersey women can rely on men to make up for the lack of discounts.
"On behalf of all the ladies, we don't have to worry that much," she said while buying a six-pack of Corona at Olde Queens Tavern in New Brunswick.
"Most men will usually take up that slack and pay. 'Oh honey I'll take care of that.' "
Contributing: The Associated Press
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