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Are you unhappy with late-night disturbances from Little Red Hen?

What do you think? (38 Comments) August 5, 2010 at 4:34PM

We received a note at 2:45 a.m. this morning (Thursday, August 5, 2010) asking the following:

Are you aware of any groups in the neighborhood working towards dealing with the Little Red Hen issues?

We have called 911 several times this year and did so again tonight when a fight broke out and several people were attempting to drive drunk.

The police suggested we contact the Liquor Control Board, which we are going to pursue.  We just wanted to connect with folks if there is already a group working on this.

In May of this year, a former employee of Little Red Hen (7115 Woodlawn Ave NE) complained about the bar’s poor handling of drunk customers.  Last fall, a large brawl at Little Red Hen woke several neighbors up.

How about it?  Are any other east Green Lake residents working on this issue?  Drop us a line and we’ll pass your contact information along to the author of the note we received early this morning.

Author:
Location: East Green Lake
Topics: , ,
What do you think? (38 Comments)
  • EugeneF

    Why was the previous comment deleted? I am assuming the people doing the complaining live in the condos near the bar. While it is unfortunate that they are disturbed by the noise, the bar (and accompanying noise) was there long before they moved in. This is something that should have been considered by the resident; I know when I choose a place to buy/live I am very careful so that I do not have to experience industrial, commercial, or traffic noise. I find it asinine that people choose to live next to these areas and then complain when the noise bothers them.

  • mygreenlake

    Thanks for the comment, EugeneF.

    FYI, no comments have been deleted from this post. Did you see somebody else's comment here, or did you try to submit one earlier that didn't go through? Let me know if you get a chance – there may be a bug in the commenting system, and if so, I would like to know about it.

    Thanks again,

    Amy Duncan
    Editor
    My Green Lake

  • EugeneF

    I had registered and posted it. It showed up at first and was not there later.

  • mygreenlake

    Huh. Thanks for letting me know, EugeneF. I'll look into that.

    Your comment was definitely not deleted by a moderator. Thanks for persevering and submitting it again. Sorry about that.

    -amy

  • Kryptin

    Not everyone has a choice in where they live. Either way the noise shouldn't have been happening before those condos and just because it was there before is all the more reason to stop it now. Just because something has been going on a long time does not make it exempt from being illegal and stopped.

  • Sam

    Ugh, the red hen. We live right across from the giant hole (former Vitamilk dairy) and the noise was INSANE last night. Yelling, screaming, people revving their engines, squealing tires. It was a total drag, as it was VERY late (midnight, 1am) and our family was trying to sleep. That whole place is a PITA.

  • seattler0cks

    People may want to look into application of the state's nuisance laws in a case like this. To discover more about the applicability of these or other laws Ed McKenna in the Seattle City Attorneys Office might be a good place to begin:

    http://www.seattle.gov/directory/detail.asp?ID=…

  • LRH

    Last night was ridiculously loud and it was about the third time in the past 3 months that was impossible to sleep through. It's not just the nuissance of the noise, but it's a safety issue.
    EugeneF, please keep in mind that there used to be a block full of shops in-between many of our houses and the Little Red Hen. For the past 3 yaers we have merely been a big hole away. I live nearly 2 blocks from the bar so I never imagined that it would be a regular thing to be woken up at 2:00 a.m. as a result of drunk fools.

  • seattler0cks

    People can continue to talk about it, either here or elsewhere every couple of months, or get organized and find out more about their options. Again, I would suggest contacting Ed McKenna (see above) to discover what those options might be. Here are the state nuisance laws:

    http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=7…. (Nuisance defined)

    http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=7…. (Civil action)

    911 is generally an ineffective tool by itself for things like this. The nuisance laws and perhaps various city ordinances might be far more powerful, but it requires (a) that somebody take the first step and look into these options; and (b) community organization if the nuisance laws are applicable (and I don't see why they wouldn't be).

    Talk to McKenna for that first step and see what he has to say.

  • EugeneF

    Unfortunately, though it seems the laws can do nothing about noise emanating from the bar. Seattle Municipal Code 25.08.225:
    “The offending noise must emanate from a residentially zoned property. This code section does not cover noise from commercial establishments, even though the victim lives in a residentially zoned property.”

    That being said, if there are multiple street fights and drunk driving, where is SPD enforcement?

  • GenHL

    I have to agree w/ EugeneF on this one. I just don't think an occasional disturbance is something to get so upset about. Get some earplugs already! The Hen is one of the places makes Greenlake unique. Has anyone tried talking tho the management there? Maybe they would be willing to hire better security.

  • seattler0cks

    Unfortunately, though it seems the laws can do nothing about noise emanating from the bar

    —

    The state nuisance laws are separate from the municipal code and address anything that “either annoys, injures or endangers the comfort, repose, health or safety of others, offends decency . . . or render dangerous for passage . . . any street; or in any way renders others insecure in the use of property” to quote the RCW linked to above. This is broad language that could include noise, fighting, intimidation, and even loss of property value. In the last case, it may well be that potential buyers would hesitate to make a purchase if they knew of a general pattern of problems nearby. Of course, buyers often aren't aware of problems until after they make a purchase, but one value of a nuisance property process is it documents and highlights the issue so that the economic interests of various parties, including residents, condo associations, realtors, nearby businesses and the problem property itself, become aligned.

    Again, a first step in understanding the applicability of the nuisance laws in this instance is to speak to someone like Ed McKenna who has worked with Seattle neighborhoods in applying them (quite successfully in some cases, I might add).

  • Local Resident

    Just go to the Hen personnel and/or mgmt and talk to them. Please do not be a passive/aggresive typical NW hater and keep blogging loudly and/or calling the cops. It's noise people thats all. Drunks should be taken care of if they are driving but the noise? Cmon. Maybe instead of beating a dying drum with the feathers of your typing fingers contact the state and have them increase the drinking to be allowed 24/7 then the noise would slowly dribble out of the bars everywhere instead of a 2am rush. Talk to the owners and suggest personally that they try to keep it down. You get more flies with honey than you do with vinegar. Jus' sayin

  • GenHL

    Well stated, local resident. The Hen has good (surprisingly good) breakfasts. Maybe they'll give some PO'd neighbors a gift certificate for their troubles!

  • Latonamom

    The Red Hen serves breakfast?

  • greenlake resident

    I agree. I live 2 blocks away – and yes I hear the noise every now and then – but for the most part it doesnt go on for that long – it is a destination for many people for country music and makes greenlake unique – I agree that maybe they could hire some better security as well – I hear just as loud of noise from the people at greenlake and the loud cars driving by greenlake and the parties that go on in the houses around me – but this is part of living at greenlake – if you want no noise you need to really be living somewhere else -

  • Skyqueen19

    I grew up at Green Lake, am 57 years old now. Never before this week have I ever heard of complaints from The Hen. Never heard complaints from my parents or neighbors. It is a fixture here at the Lake. I hope it remains even though I never frequent it. It is one of the last relics of a by-gone era. Albertsons is still sorely missed. Sorry, condo folks, if it is you who complain. You can always sell and leave our neighborhood. Thank you.

  • Skyqueen19

    Correction of typo from Skyqueen19 – I meant ABOUT the Hen not from the Hen.