Meadow Street Marauders

121 Meadow Street. Directly across street from Townhouse Apartments 

While top ranked UMass and town officials and Northwestern District Attorney Dave Sullivan staked out the south side of campus Friday night intercepting throngs of students traveling by foot through residential neighbors to discuss civility, respect and politeness all while handing out raisin oatmeal cookies, the north end of campus became party central, culminating in a riot at 121 Meadow Street. According to police narrative (11:57 PM):

1000+ party guests were cleared out. While doing so, bottles were thrown at officers who had to retreat and don riot helmets for protection. It took approximately 45 minutes to clear the party out. All party guests were moved east bound down Meadow Street and toward North Pleasant Street. The resident of 121 Meadow Street was issued a TBL (town bylaw) Nuisance House violation.

Summons issued:
XXX
18 Pond Street Stoneham, MA
age 21

Issuing a $300 Nuisance House ticket sets the groundwork for holding the owner of the house responsible, because after the second offense the town can fine the landlord $300 for not controlling their irresponsible tenants.

Property card for 121 Meadow Street

Another hectic weekend for APD

1057 North Pleasant Street, Amherst @ 6:45 AM Sunday

Saturday night as the witching hour fast approached, a half dozen squad cars and the large transport van (referred to as a "paddy wagon" way back in the day) converged on the center of Meadow Street directly in front of the main entry to Townhouse Apartments, where students had been congregating all night long--fueled by warm humid air and beer.

Like Old West cowboys, APD herded the massive crowd of students away from Meadow Street--which by then had become impassable to cars--back into the confines of the sprawling apartment complexes that consists almost entirely of UMass students.

Then they turned their attention to the large house on the slummy side of Meadow Street with all the cars parked on the lawn, which had been attracting overloaded taxis for most of the night--contributing to the gridlock on Meadow Street.

As the officers moved as a unit towards a side entrance where a few residents were still milling about I heard the clang of an empty beer can ricochet off the road at their feet.

This congested, claustrophobic--dangerous--scene of too many students and too few cops was replayed on Phillips Street, Hobart Lane, and upper North Pleasant Street between 10:00 PM and 1:00 AM. With students crossing those roads freely back-and-forth in droves, I'm amazed there were no people vs car incidents.

Meanwhile, back in Amherst center McMurphy's and Stackers had lines of young people waiting to get to the bar, while next door a friendly crowd formed in front of Antonio's Pizza, happily chowing down. Cell phones chirped, a street musician played the xylophone and an incessant car alarm was almost drown out by the cacophony of loud conversations coming from consumers all along the busy street, looking for something to do.

Just another late Saturday night in our little (college) town.

374 North Pleasant Street, Amherst @ 6:40 AM Sunday

Party House(s) of the Weekend

53 Meadow Street, North Amherst

So as I expected, APD busted #53 Meadow Street for noise violations late Saturday night (see yesterday's report) but they also hit them with the more serious charge of "nuisance house." Rather than simply being handed $300 tickets--times each charge--the responsible parties were arrested, hands cuffed behind their backs and then transported to the police station where the bail bondsman usually shows up in the early AM to process at $40 each all those netted during the long night.

Overturned potty on Meadow Street

Arrested for Noise and Nuisance House violations:

Ryan Casey, 10 Cabot Rd, North Andover, MA, age 22
Brian Bartolucci, 103 Blueberry Pond Dr, Brewster, MA, age 22
Jeffrey Rigney, 13 Harlow Rd, Marshfield, MA, age 23
Salvatore Cacciatore, 653 Beaver St, Waltham, MA, age 22

Assessor Property Card for 53 Meadow Street

Rivaling the party at Meadow Street but with double the number arrested on the same charges of noise and nuisance house violations, the tenants of 62 Summer Street also merit a note of dubious achievement.

Arrested for Noise and Nuisance House violations:

Timothy Higgins, 7 Norwich Lane, Methuen, MA, age 20
John Coschigano, 7 Apple Tree Road, Bethel, CT, age 20
Adam Dorfman, 65 Wilkeshire Blvd, Randolph, NJ, age 21
Steven Pesapane, 8 Shadetree Ct, Stoney Brook, NY, age 20
Philip Taberner, 1 Bramble Hill Rd, Methuen, MA, age 21
Kevin Miller, 68 Temple Dr, Methuen, MA, age 20
Marc Jesi, 27 Castle Circle, Peabody, MA, age 20
Nicholas Fabrizio, 342 Pelham St, Methuen, MA, age 21

Property Card for 62 Summer Street

Mayhem on Meadow Street

 

Small number of police disperse large number of students 2:30 PM Townhouse quad

The crowd started to gather in the quad area of Townhouse Apartments -- scene of the infamous Blarney Blowout last March -- just after high noon and a constant stream of college aged youth carrying boxes of beer quickly brought the mob to full strength of perhaps 1,000.

North Amherst center 2:00 PM heading towards Townhouse Apartments

 

At times Meadow Street was a gridlock of cars and partiers

A small number of Amherst Police first moved in around 2:30 PM and pushed the unruly mob out of the quad area.

Many of the partygoers simply moved across the street to a party house on Meadow Street that had also been going strong since probably well before noon.

 Partiers start streaming from backyard towards Meadow Street.  UMPD officer on left

Crowd is pushed back toward Townhouse Apartments

Around 4:30 PM,  after reinforcements arrived, police again moved in to disperse the large crowd numbering in the hundreds packed into the backyard.

 Party hardy types left a bit of a mess in the backyard

The responsible tenants of 53 Meadow Street were given $300 tickets and at least one young lady was arrested for an alcohol related offense.

 Unhappy tenants holding their $300 tickets

Young lady arrested

And by 5:00 PM it was over.  The night, however, is still young ...

 

Yes, APD may see these two again, before the night is done

Well now... if you didn't know the students were back, you sure did today... esp. in N. Amherst! #zoomass #partyheartytheremarty
— Jorma Kansanen (@JKansanen) September 7, 2013

A 19-year-old UMass student was found dead in their Washington Tower dorm room early Saturday afternoon: http://t.co/mkF0j7zUZx
— Daily Collegian (@CollegianStaff) September 8, 2013

Good News, Bad News

 

Large contingent of APD officer 53 Meadow Street 4:45 PM Saturday

So once again the marketing machine at UMass pays off handsomely (besides the "world record" fruit salad story) as today's print edition of the Springfield Republican carries the aging good news story about UMass donating $80,000 to the town of Amherst for extra ambulance coverage.

No mention of this past weekend where the "Blarney Blowout" almost reappeared, or that nine-out-of-17 ambulance runs to UMass were for ETOH students passed out drunk.

 

Note high number of ETOH calls

I was at Wildwood Elementary School playground just after 2:00 PM Saturday with my youngest daughter Jada when I first heard the cryptic scanner reports about a growing storm at Townhouse Apartments on Meadow Street.

So I drove the short distance (my youngest loves the sight of police officers) to check it out and of course immediately realized by the huge throng of students (1,000+) in the quad that there was going to be trouble.

My daughter then asked, "Where are all the police officers?"  Good question. I could only spot three.  Yikes!

 APD officers 2:30 PM Townhouse Apartments.  All for one and one for all

But I figured they were simply waiting for reinforcements --  as they did with the Blarney Blowout -- and would simply allow the kids to party for a few hours and then move in around 5:00 PM with the aid of State PD and UMPD officers all safely dressed in riot gear.

 

Townhouse quad 2:53 PM

I drove home to drop off Jada and jump on my mountain bike for better access to the scene.  I arrived back only a half hour later (3:00 PM) and was amazed to see the small contingent of uniformed officers had waded in and dispersed the h-u-g-e gathering at the quad.

 

Just outside the quad area 3:00 PM.  53 Meadow Street party house in background

Give those boys a medal.

Some people encourage the mayhem

But many of the partiers simply moved to an adjacent party house just across the street (53 Meadow Street) and filled the back yard with drunken revelry.

Although this group was only one-fourth the size (250+) of original crowd in the quad and the police presence was now three or four times greater than the previous incident it still took almost an hour to clear the scene.

53 Meadow Street backyard.  Much smaller than Townhouse Apartment quad

Why so long the second time?  Probably that extra hour so of partying and the effects of that much more alcohol in the system.  After all, this entire event was pretty much one BIG binge drinking affair.

Which leads me to believe that if a harrowing small number of police officers had not bravely moved in when they did early on (without riot gear) to break up the huge gathering in the Townhouse quad, only another hour or two would have been enough time for that army to turn ornery.

In other words, we got lucky.  This time.  

A (somewhat) rational response

Sorry for Partying has left a new comment on your post "Another hectic weekend for APD":

Geeze I'm starting to wonder what you would even write about if these "kids" weren't having a good time - every other article is about "the party house of the week". If Amherst is so interesting and great without college students then find better material. You practically re-write the police log...

I wonder if you've ever experienced a "good time" as a young adult. Sing or dance with friends? Get rowdy? Consume an alcoholic beverage, perhaps? If you had one fun bone in your body I bet you'd understand why college students behave this way. That Peter Clark kid has a good point - what's a party without music?

Contrary to popular belief, most UMass students actually do school work throughout the week. Getting into this school isn't as easy as it once was, the class of 2014's average high school GPA was a 3.61. (compare that to Boston University's class of 2014 that had an average GPA of 3.6) So when the weekend rolls around I think most of the students deserve to party, drink and make some noise without being charged $300 for a noise violation.

I have had nothing but good times with great friends at this school. It's unfortunate that more and more people have been getting arrested. What's funny is that I've partied at most of the houses featured on your "blog" and they've been GREAT. I can remember each one like it was yesterday - Tracy Circle, PIKE, Meadow Street, Townhouses, South Prospect and Summer Street! The guys at these houses are incredible too, if you actually went out of your way to meet and interact with some of the student body I'm sure you would agree.

"Did you know the airport was there when you moved in?" UMass Amherst has been around way longer than you have, and so has the partying. Why should it stop living up to the name ZooMass? I talk to alumni and they reminisce on the glory days - did you ever have those? Did you ever go to a party with 100+ of your closest friends? Do you even have 100 friends?

This school is the best thing that has ever happened to me. And honestly I feel bad, because if I remember correctly you have a daughter - who will NEVER get to experience the UMass I did, If she even chooses to go here. Which, by the looks of it, you probably wouldn't let that happen. Heaven forbid she drink and dance at a party in college with tons of people. Although if she does decide to go here, I hope she doesn't get arrested for playing music too loud and drinking with her friends - wouldn't that just come back and bite you in the butt.

If you could wrap your head around the fact that these parties and gatherings are what complete the college experience, I think you'd have a better understanding as to why these things happen. We don't do it to spite the community or the police force - we do it because we enjoy partying. Hobart Hoedown has been a UMass tradition - and although you weren't the person who decided to have the police and riot force posted up on the street that day, you're part of a community that supports that. We have four years where it's socially acceptable to party our butts off and have the time of our lives and then we have to grow up and participate in real-life. If you could go back in time and relive a day of college - what would you wanna be doing? Sitting in a living room playing a board game on a Saturday night with 5 of your closest friends or be dancing to loud music in a house drinking wiith 100 - 200 of your friends?

...please enlighten me

Thanks for writing--as opposed to using text speak. I'm actually coming up on only the one year anniversary of my popular "Party House of the Weekend" series," which commenced on October 18th; and since then I have put up 58 posts under the tag "nuisance house" out of 1,696 total posts (not counting this one) or .034%--hardly "every other article."

And my family first moved to Amherst in the early 1850s--before UMass was founded.

Interesting, isn't it? When you shine a spotlight or hold up a mirror to their actions people often respond with criticism of the messenger who is simply holding the mirror/light, and try to portray them as somehow overly fixated.

I also notice that my Party Boy, newsworthy friends Peter Clark and Emerson Rutkowski have changed their names on Facebook, as though that is going to throw off the Google stain effect.

But you bring up a good point. Where do you draw the line between kids just having a good time and behavior that simply should not be tolerated by civilized adults, assuming you believe--as I do--that 18 to 22-year-old students are adults and civilized?

I found the perfect example on Peter Clark's Facebook DJ business page (a link he has now deleted) and sent it to the Amherst Select Board and acting Town Manager. It's called 121 Meadow Street and it consists of a little over nine minutes of raw video documenting the "party" at 121 Meadow Street. A party that soon thereafter became a "riot" with rocks and bottles hurled at responding Amherst police officers.

The state of Massachusetts recently passed a "crowd control" law which requires one sober employee for every 250 people at an event. This was in response to the tragic Rhode Island station nightclub fire that killed 100 people who were--just prior to that--having a "good time."

If I had to guess that 121 Meadow Street party, at it's peak, would have required 5 or 6 sober crowd control personnel. At about the five minute mark you can hear one of the tenants of the house saying plaintively, "I gotta get this car out of my driveway..."

What if it was a life or death emergency where every second counts?

That same night the Amherst Fire Department was swamped with calls--many of them UMass students having had too much to drink. Our Town Manager slipped and fell last month and was seriously injured. The quick response of AFD probably saved his life. But what if all the ambulances were too busy with drunk kids to have gotten to him in a timely manner?

A while back a sitting Select Board member's husband needed an ambulance, but they were all tied up with UMass type calls. A Northampton ambulance had to bring him to the hospital.

Although 121 Meadow Street is Ground Zero for student housing, there have been numerous parties just like that in residential neighborhoods (sounds like you attended a few) that are not dominated by student abodes--where average people go to work or school, deal with life in a responsible mature manner, and need to get some sleep.

They also take pride in maintaining their property and hate it when a neighboring house looks like a trash dumpster that was hit by a wind storm. Or when Party House patrons deposit cups, bottles, cans, vomit--or worse--on their property.

Oldest saying in the book my young friend: "All things in moderation."

Blarney Blowout 2016

Morning briefing 7:15 AM  100+ police vehicles and AFD on scene

 #####

Parking ban prevented extra thousands from attending

8:25 AM:

Townhouse quads in North Amherst are quiet as police are blockading both entrances 

Police blocking entrance to Townhouse Apartments

Parking lots near Southwest still have plenty of room

 Ch 22 with their hard to miss camera

High Noon:

UMPD at Mullins Center concert:  "Still under 1,000 patrons and we have more leaving than coming." #blarneyblowout

— Larry Kelley (@amherstac) March 5, 2016

2:30 PM:

Townhouse quads quiet like a church mouse, although party activity in the front yards along Meadow Street

PD blockade was extremely effective 

PD blockade at Puffton Village, another usual flashpoint

 State Police Helicopter Air 1 flew lazy loops all morning into early afternoon 

 AFD responding for the 2nd time to 11 Phillips Street for a false fire alarm

APD K9 "Dash" assisted with party control on Shumway Street and College Street

Police broke up noisy gathering on Amity Street near town ctr

 
8:00 PM:  Good night Blarney:

6:30 AM The Morning After:

 Meadow Street

Phillips Street

 Fearing Street

Who ya gonna call?

Large crowd starting to form Townhouse Apartments around noon

A huge contingent of UMass police helped APD prevent another "Blarney Blowout" yesterday with a great number of officers patrolling in a highly visibility manner the usual hotspots, especially in North Amherst:  Meadow Street, scene of the "Blarney Blowout riot" and Hobart Lane, home of the infamous "Hobart Hoedown," and all along North Pleasant Street which cuts through the heart of UMass, our omnipresent neighbor for 150 years.

Townhouse Apartments main entry

At one point around 4:00 PM Hadley Police called for UMPD's special tactical unit (a four person rapid response team stationed at AFD North Station) to assist with an out of control party, but had to fend on their own as the unit was busy dealing with problems in North Amherst.

But the problems in Amherst never reached the level of a month ago when a great number of State Police were required to quell the rowdy throng at Townhouse Apartments.

Let's hope our local PDs can maintain this level of vigilance over the next five weeks.

UMPD officers help disperse large crowd starting to gather Townhouse Apartments

Townhouse Apartments West entrance

Bumper to bumper Meadow Street traffic early afternoon

Rooftop party Meadow Street, North Amherst center

Joint APD UMPD checkpoint Hobart Lane

Party House North Pleasant Street