The Party’s Not Over, but It’s Much Tamer

It’s known as Party Central.

The stretch of 1950s duplexes between 54th and 36th streets along Seashore Drive in West Newport--a magnet for summer renters and college students--has an ambience that contrasts sharply with the rest of the city’s affluent, homeowner neighborhoods.

Over the years, the party atmosphere, noise and rowdiness had become a problem for some permanent residents.

“On July 4th weekends, I used to leave town because it was so bad,” said Rick Ruiz, who has lived for 21 years on Seashore, a block from the beach. “It was like Mardi Gras out here.”

A couple of new ordinances and increased police patrols in the area have been instrumental in curbing some of the year-round partying, said Ruiz, a member of the West Newport Assn., a residents group dedicated to neighborhood improvement.

A constant turnover in tenants was a factor in neighborhood problems that the association identified, officials said.

Summer renters and college students with short-term leases tended to throw all-night parties and give the neighborhood a blighted appearance by decorating their tiny front yards with old furniture such as beat-up couches in addition to beach chairs.

A successful 1993 anti-party ordinance, sponsored by local resident and Councilwoman Janice A. Debay, pulled the plug on loud parties. The new law places as much responsibility for decorum on absentee homeowners as on a party’s host.

“The message is ‘be careful who you rent to,’ ” said Debay, who represents the city’s most densely populated district.

A recently passed 10% bed tax--a levy on guest bills at hotels--now applies to summer home rentals as well. Most of the revenue goes to pay for lifeguard and paramedic services in the area, which has an estimated 100,000 beach-goers on a typical summer day, officials said.

In addition, a two-officer bicycle patrol has been added to the area, and aggressive city code enforcement keeps properties in order.

“There are streets that are still party streets. But we just don’t have the party noise that we used to,” said Joann Larson, a resident near Seashore. “It has gotten so much better than it used to be.”