Drunken drivers, empty beer bottles, random acts of vandalism and the occasional gunfight are typical Saturday night happenings for residents of Tucker Street near White Rock Lake.
All the rowdiness stems from a nearby nightclub, Far West. Neighbors have been fighting Far West at least since 2008, when they challenged a 99-year specific use permit the owners had to operate a dance hall there. They got the S.U.P. changed to five years, and it expires in 2013.
That’s not soon enough for neighbors who are tired of the weekly pandemonium. So this time, they are contesting the club’s liquor license. The license is up for renewal in December, and two lawyers have volunteered their time to file a protest with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. Last month, they sent a 14-page letter detailing violence at the club, including a Jan. 18 fight that lead to a car chase with police and a shooting.
So far this year, police have filed seven aggravated assault complaints at the club. And there were two cases of “accidental injury”, when people got hit in the head with bottles.
City Councilman Angela Hunt, who attended a Lakewood Hills Neighborhood Association crime watch meeting Tuesday, says she recently asked the fire marshal to check up on the club.
The club’s legal capacity is 2,500, and the doorman told the fire department some 2,400 were inside. The fire marshal counted more than 3,000 people leaving the club. But a $1,000 fine for violating fire code is just part of doing business for some clubs, Hunt said.
“Yeah, we can keep sending the fire marshal and babysitting them and giving them fines,” she says. “But we need a more substantial solution than that.”
After the jump, something weird related to Far West.
I happened to come across this 9-minute video from Vice films about the fashion trend of Mexican pointy-toe boots. Evidently, it is popular among followers of tribal music. The film includes an interview the “god” of tribal music, DJ Erick Rincón of Mexico City, who says the first time he ever saw these pointy-toe boots was in Dallas, at Far West nightclub.
