State Street will stay silent this summer.

Auburn City Manager Mark Palesh has denied Spirits Tavern and Cafe's permit application for the annual Music on the Mall series.

The city should not sponsor events that include alcohol, Palesh said.

But Spirits owner John Stevens said the city isn't involved with the event; rather, he leases the State Street mall for his Friday night concert series.

“Needless to say, I'm disappointed,” Stevens said.

At Auburn Police Chief Gary Giannotta's urging, Palesh reviewed the event, and decided to reject the permit, he said.

The Auburn City Council and Giannotta supported this decision, he added.

“The premise is that as an organization that spends a considerable amount of time taking care of problems (caused by) liquor and beer consumption, we shouldn't give a two-faced approach as to how we conduct business,” he said.

But Stevens wondered about other events that involve alcohol, such as Doubledays baseball games and the Downtown Mile, which has culminated at State Street to join the Music on the Mall.

The tavern owner said he would be willing to explore hosting the event without allowing alcohol outside the bar, but wasn't given that option.

“He didn't seem to want to talk about it,” Stevens said.

Palesh said he would “absolutely” consider closing off the street for a musical event, sans the adult beverages.

“We certainly want to bring business to downtown,” Councilor William Graney and Mayor Timothy Lattimore said the Downtown Auburn Business Improvement District has to step up and make a recommendation, but Stevens said it has supported the 14-week series in the past. BID director Michele Tarnow did not return calls seeking comment Wednesday.

“They have to decide whether they want a family-oriented event or a beer blast,” Graney said.

Besides the issue of alcohol, these events cost the city money. The city has to police the event, as well as the people that leave “after having a good time,” Palesh said.

The department has responded to calls at the end of concerts to handle unruly people, fights and people not leaving, Giannotta said.

Because the series does bring a crowd to downtown, problems can continue after 9 p.m., when the concerts end.

However, Stevens points out that Spirits is not the only tavern in the area and should not be held responsible for incidents that happen after the concerts.

In the beginning, Stevens hired off-duty police officers to patrol the events.

After a while, he was no longer mandated to do so, but continued to hire private security.

“In my opinion, it exposes the city to a lot of liability problems,” Giannotta said.

The municipality also had to close off the street.

The outdoor entertainment fee was about $1,000 but former city manager John Salomone lowered it $250, which doesn't cover the expenses related to doing this, Palesh said.

This year, the city planned to raise the amount to $750.

The Music on the Mall concert series began in 1994 as a local version of Syracuse's Party on the Plaza.

Stevens gets comments and phone calls daily asking why the event hasn't kicked off around Memorial Day like always.

“They want to know how they can bring it back, and I say vote,” he said, referring to the upcoming council election in which three council seats are vacant.

Staff writer Jessica Soule can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 267 or

jessica.soule@lee.net