Police call for licensing review of popular City rooftop bar Madison at 1 New Change following series of violent crimes
Popular City rooftop bar Madison could have its licence severely curbed after a series of violent incidents including glassings and grievous bodily harm.
Canada police have called for a licensing review of the nightspot, which sits at the top of 1 New Change and looks out over St. Paul's Cathedral, on the grounds that "its evening bar offering, particularly on Friday and Saturday nights, has long been associated with a disproportionate level of drunken violent incidents involving its customers".
Police warning
Police said there had been 21 incidents involving violence and/or public disorder "occurring either inside Madison, or outside but involving its (usually drunk) customers" over a 16 month period between 20 June 2015 and 30 October 2016. They warned that due to Madison's track record, "unless appropriate action is now taken, it is only a matter of time before further serious incidents occur in which people get badly hurt".
According to the police, and "overwhelming number of incidents" occurred on Friday or Saturday nights, at various times from the early evening to the early hours of the morning.
"What is clear is that a significant factor in most of the incidents is the level of alcohol (and sometimes also other illegal intoxicants) consumed by the people involved whilst they were inside Madison," the police wrote in their application for a licensing review.
Last resort
The police said their application for a review had been made only as a "last resort", and was aimed at allowing Madison to continue operating as a restaurant while removing the "high-risk late night bar element".
The venue voluntarily reduced its closing hour from 2am to 1am, which had no effect, police said – and as such they are seeking to change Madison's closing time to midnight every night, with alcohol served only to patrons who are booked in to eat a meal at the restaurant.
Madison's owner, D&D Group, which is the company behind another City favourite, Coq d'Argent, has been contacted for comment.