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Board of Alcoholic Beverage Control: Minutes (1972 - 1987)
RepositoryCity of Newark Archives and Records Management Center
Collection IDBoxes 0457, 0458
Size2 linear feet (2 boxes)
Collection Description
Location: 1st Floor Stacks

The collection includes minutes of the routine meetings of the Board of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) and transcripts of "appearances," or hearings. The minutes of weekly meetings list basic information regarding the application for, renewal of, or transfer of licenses, and disciplinary actions; the transcripts of hearings provide a wealth of detail regarding the neighborhoods, patrons and owners of the city's taverns. The establishments that appear before the board run the gamut from fly-by-night unlicensed "clubs" to long-term or prominent businesses with well-known proprietors.

Transcripts include testimony of police officers, bartenders, tavern owners and patrons, and neighbors who are questioned and cross-examined, often at great length, by attorneys for the board and for the licensee. Some appearances are simply appeals for a new license, or for the renewal or transfer of a license. Other appearances involve offenses that could risk the loss of a license. Offenses include unlicensed premises, underage drinking, brawls, sales of narcotics, prostitution, and excessive noise and other nuisance related concerns. Exhibits in the transcripts may include police reports, hospital reports, and sketches and maps.

Minutes of the meetings of the ABC include the Board's decisions primarily with regard to the application for transfers of licenses from person to person or place to place, and with regard to other changes in venue or ownership, new applications for licenses, decisions regarding "appearances" or hearings, and disciplinary actions taken. Information includes names and addresses of applicants and the associated license numbers; the type of offense and the date are listed, as well as the board's actions regarding disciplinary matters.

Commissioners in 1972 included James H. Slaughter Chairman), William S. MacDonald, and Johnie Peterson; the Secretary was Robert E. Brown.

Box 0457 (1972-1975) contains minutes of weekly meetings, and a few transcripts.

Box 0458 (1980-1987) consists primarily of transcripts and only a smattering of minutes.

Related photographs can be found in Photographs: City Clerk's Office Albums, and in Municipal Board of Alcoholic Beverage Control: Photographs and Documents, Box 0409.
FormatTextual materials
SubjectsBusiness / Commerce; Irish-American History; Law / Lawyers / Courts; Leisure Activities / Clubs / Societies; Police / Crime / Law Enforcement
Time Period20th Century
Access policyOpen for research
ProcessedNo