Those hoping to catch a concert or other event at the Westcott Theater in Syracuse are out of luck for the time being after the city ordered it closed for code violations. The city stepped up enforcement after recent fights and gunfire spilled into the neighborhood.
Westcott residents noticed a shift in the types of events at the theater earlier this spring, from the usual concerts that end at midnight to private parties extending into the early morning hours.
Sam Gruber is co-president of the Westcott Neighborhood Association, and said the theater has been a good neighbor and economic engine.
“Generally, crowds have been always well behaved and managed as they wait for a concert as they come out," Gruber said. "It's these late night 12 to two types of activities that spill over up to Harvard where there were gunshots, that changes the game.”
But the violence over the weekend uncovered a number of other issues with the venue, including lack of an entertainment license since last summer, and fire code violations. Yet, city Auditor Alexander Marion said the venue was issued a Certificate of Use. He says the layers of permitting can be confusing.
“The time has come, and our audit has showed, that we need to be overhauling some of these regulations to make it a more streamlined process," Marion said. "So you don't have to try to figure out well, am I defined as this, is this event defined as that, because some of it's not even well spelled out in statutes that were written 50, 70 years ago.”
Marion released a five point plan that he hopes city officials will use to improve licensing with a focus on safety, transparency, and proactivity. Mayor Ben Walsh said department heads and the theater owner met Wednesday.
“We want the Wescott theatre to be successful, to be a positive contributing business for the Westcott neighborhood and for the city. And we think they can be," Walsh said. "But it's important that we prioritize the life safety issues and get those resolved.”
For example, Walsh says the fire department has identified major concerns about the lack of exits from the nearly 100-year-old building that could be catastrophic in case of an emergency. It’s not clear when the theater might reopen.
