Closing time

Walk down Essex Street in Lawrence late at night or early in the morning any weekend and you might forget you're in a northern Massachusetts city.

There's the Loft Restaurant belting out merengue and reggaeton as a line of women in tight pants and high heels wait to get in. Around the block is Vivid Nightclub, a place known to attract popular hip-hop and Latin performers. And just off the street on Amesbury is Mambo Nightclub, yet another spot where one can sway to bachata.

Nearly two years after the city's licensing board moved last call for alcohol from 1 a.m. to 2 a.m. on weekends, Lawrence has become the area's major hot spot for Latin music and urban night life. Well-known artists have become regulars in venues, drawing in party seekers from around the state and New Hampshire.

''It's one of the biggest night-life cities" in the area, said Paul Barrasso, manager of Vivid, who believes that a strong vibe at night is key to the city's economic development. ''We bring in acts from different areas, from Florida and the Dominican Republic. The more tickets I sell, the more booze I sell -- that's more revenue for the city."

But the success of the clubs has meant that Lawrence has also become a magnet for patrons coming to the city just for that last drink, said Police Chief John J. Romero. And that has meant trouble for police. He wants closing time put back to 1 a.m.

Romero said that a large number of the last-call crowd -- many of whom are coming from places with earlier closing times -- are already intoxicated. When the Lawrence clubs close at 2 a.m., the drunk partygoers flood the city's street, he said.

And that's when the problems begin.

According to police statistics, felony assaults have nearly doubled on early morning Saturdays and tripled Sunday mornings since the licensing board moved last-call hours. The period between 2 to 3 a.m. on weekends, Romero said, is the most violent hour for the city. Alcohol has been a factor in most of the crimes, he said.

''It's literally impossible to patrol the city," said Romero, who estimates it costs Lawrence around $200,000 annually to police the city at those hours. ''Around a thousand people come out at 2 a.m. And if there's an incident, patrols have to respond to that call, leaving the whole city vulnerable."

Romero knows that the late closing time means revenue to the city, but he is pressing the licensing board to move last call back to 1 a.m. to end the city's reputation as a stop for partygoers seeking one more for the road. That has some club owners vowing to fight the move, saying police should instead focus on problem establishments and not punish all the city's bars.

A debate over the closing hour has developed with both sides arguing that their concerns are the concerns of city residents.

On one side are bar owners and clubbers who say their presence has helped the city raise money to build new schools and attract new businesses. On the other side are the police and neighborhood groups saying those late weekend hours are a threat to the city's declining crime rate, which has fallen more than 50 percent in the past seven years.

The pressure is likely to increase as Mayor Michael J. Sullivan gets ready to make two new appointments to the three-member licensing board -- one to fill a long-time vacancy; another to replace the outgoing chairman, Roger Twomey, whose term is about to expire. Those two appointments could determine the future of the city's night life since Twomey and fellow board member Mayra Lantigua remain split on Romero's proposal.

''I'm going to consult the whole community before I make the appointments," Sullivan said. ''That includes neighbor groups, club owners, businesses, and residents."

Last month, the board failed to take a vote on Romero's proposal. Lantigua declined to make a motion for a vote on Twomey's request. Twomey supports changing the closing hour, while Lantigua said she preferred targeting troubled bars rather than rolling back the city's hours.

Barrasso, the manager of Vivid, said he agrees that police should go after only those troubled clubs instead of punishing all the businesses. ''I believe there should be a point system," Barrasso said. ''Here we have no problems and tight security. Ask anyone in the community and they'll tell you we're a safe place. Why should we close down? Why not work with the clubs?"

Romero said he doesn't believe targeting problem bars would be the answer to tackling assaults during the early-morning weekend hours. On average, about 13 percent of aggravated assaults in the city each week occur between the hours of 1 and 3 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday, he said.

''It's about allowing clubs in general to stay open until 2 o'clock," Romero said. ''As long as the city does that, you're inviting people to drink at your club. It's what happens afterwards that we have to deal with."

Barrasso said that if the hours are rolled back, it would be a major blow to the city's new night life reputation. He has booked hip-hop artist T-Pain and reggae artist Mr. Vegas to perform at his club later this month.

''If we roll back the hours to 1 a.m.," said Barrasso, ''how can I book acts like that to come here?"

Niomee Sengchanthavong, 25, is one of those who frequents Lawrence clubs on weekends. Speaking outside of Vivid on a recent Saturday morning, Sengchanthavong said she didn't think it was fair to move last call back to 1 a.m. because it's hard for people to find places in Massachusetts at night. ''Two o'clock is good enough for me," she said. ''I feel safe here."

Sengchanthavong said Lawrence has a diversity of clubs she can't find anywhere else.

Frank Incropera, president of the Mount Vernon Neighborhood Association, said most people in his group support Romero's plan to ease the strain on the police department. He said there is no reason for residents from nearby towns to come to Lawrence just to drink into the early morning.

''We don't need them, and we don't need the money," Incropera said. ''Let them do that in their own city."