By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Wednesday, October 9, 1991
The Record (New Jersey) | 6 Star | NEWS | Page B01
Who is responsible when Johnny throws a keg party for a few of his teenage friends after Mom and Dad leave for the weekend?
That gap in state law which prohibits teenagers from drinking in most places but does not address who would be responsible when they drink on private property was the major topic of a meeting in Hasbrouck Heights on Tuesday.
“This is an important issue for all of us,” Bergen County Executive William “Pat” Schuber said in his opening address to a breakfast meeting of more than 270 people, including legislators and police officers who deal with juveniles.
“On the issue of host liability and teenage drinking, there cannot be any greater priority for government and our leaders than saving a generation,” Schuber said.
Tuesday’s program at the Sheraton Heights Hotel was organized by the Bergen County Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse.
County Prosecutor John J. Fahy, the keynote speaker, said the program was not arranged to deal with issues raised by the death of Coleen Draney, a Fair Lawn teenager who died of heart failure at a New Year’s Eve party where there had been drinking.
But, he said, her death helped focus people’s attention on the issue of teenage drinking.
“The consequences are so serious, because young people can die, if the problem is not addressed,” Fahy said.
He raised the point of the ambiguities in the law concerning private property, saying it sends mixed messages to youths and their parents.
Also, he said, youths are constantly bombarded with messages in advertisements that they can enjoy themselves only if they drink.
“The message is not subtle: To be a better lover, you have to drink scotch; to be a better skier, you have to drink beer; to sit at a table with a beautiful woman, you have to drink wine,” Fahy said.
The law states clearly that no one under the age of 21 is allowed to consume alcohol except in a religious ceremony or with the permission of a parent or guardian.
So some parents allow alcohol to be used as a rite of passage, or allow prom-bound teens to drink at home as a way to prevent them from drinking in public, Fahy said.
“I find that to be complete insanity,” Fahy said.
“Those parents, perhaps, are well-intentioned, but . . . the message that we have to send out is that teenage drinking is not going to be tolerated.”
The Bergen County Juvenile Officers Association has developed a model amendment to the state law that would specifically include private property among the places where youths cannot drink.
Cresskill police Detective Sgt. William Macchio, a member of the association, said tougher and clearer laws are needed all over Bergen County.
Cresskill, for instance, has an ordinance that closes the loophole in the state law, and has effectively cut down on teenage parties, he said. But it is unclear whether youths move their parties to surrounding towns.
Keywords: HASBROUCK HEIGHTS; MEETING; YOUTH; ALCOHOL; VIOLATION
ID: 17357557 | Copyright © 1991, The Record (New Jersey)
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