Teen "Nightclub" Closes: What Comes Next?

by Joan R. Simon

(December 1, 2004) The Cove, Mamaroneck High School's alcohol-and-substance-free nightclub, quietly closed its doors last spring, but after an autumn with no alternative, students, parents and community leaders are all beginning to talk about how it can be revived.

Ironically, this popular Friday night activity was a victim of its own success. Located at the Playhouse in Flint Park, the Cove was held six or seven times a year and had been drawing beyond-capacity crowds for many years. The crowds were creating a potentially dangerous and unhealthy environment for the high school students it was meant to entertain, said organizer Rita Plansky, who had been chaperoning the evenings with co-director Martha Kaufman for 11 years.

The Flint Park Playhouse served as the home for the Cove until this spring.

“Too many kids in the park, too many kids in the dark.”

“The Cove had become an ‘attractive nuisance,’” remarked Ms. Plansky. “It brought too many kids into the park and too many kids in the dark. We believe there was drinking and smoking and hanging out, and it wasn’t safe or comfortable for the Village of Larchmont.” Ms. Kaufman noted, “It was terrific for years and years. Initially we had 50 to 75 kids. Now hundreds come, looking for some place to go.” She added, “Kids obviously want and need some place to gather.”

Senior Kelly Devine, who is currently president of the Student Council, was on the student-run Cove board last year and observed that “the atmosphere was getting tense and police were having to come and clear the area.” There was no one incident that precipitated the closing, Ms. Kaufman explained, “It was just the general feeling that what it was supposed to accomplish was kind of lost over time and the overall respect for the place changed. And without the respect you tend to end up in a potential problem situation.”

A Replacement is Needed

Many ideas are being proposed, but one thing everyone agrees on: a replacement for the Cove needs to be found. Village of Larchmont Trustee Liz Feld said, “It is actually my biggest priority for the next year and a half. We have got to find some sort of alternative recreation” for high school kids. She wondered whether the community could “build something new in Flint Park, or renovate what we have.” She added, “I have two high school students. Every Friday night you hope they aren’t at Nicky’s on North Avenue.”

“The Town Youth Council would very much like to get the Cove up and running again,” said Town of Mamaroneck Trustee Judy Myers, who heads up the Youth Council. One suggestion is to hold it in the Pavilion at Harbor Island. Currently that location is used for the Battle of the Bands, sponsored by R.A.D.A.R (Responsible Action Drug Alcohol Resource), where local student groups compete with each other before large high school audiences. Ms. Myers is convening a meeting on December 16 “to do some brainstorming and see if there is enough interest” to pursue this or some other idea. She hopes that the students will present their plan to the boards of the three municipalities in the coming months.

High school PTSA president Susan Lewen noted that at a parent network meeting this fall, there was a proposal to write a grant application to the Mamaroneck School Foundation for safe, alternative weekend activities for students. She mentioned several ideas, such as a “Get Buff Night” at the new gym opening across the street from the high school or a movie series. Ms. Devine, however, felt that “finding a new place shouldn’t have anything to do with changing the activity.” She stressed, “It was so successful and we had such large numbers.”

Location is the Key

Location is perhaps the biggest issue. The Playhouse at Flint Park was clearly too small to hold the large number of interested students; and the surrounding park was too large for the local police to comfortably monitor. However, suggestions for moving the Cove to the high school where there is ample room have not been well-received.

Ms. Lewen remarked, “It seems like the kids universally say we don’t want it at the high school.” Ms. Devine felt the same way: “We’re going to try to come up with something but not on school grounds, because that sort of takes away from the whole thing.” But Ms. Lewen added, “I don’t want to give up on the idea of doing it at the school, but kids would have to be involved in designing the activity to be successful.”

Town of Mamaroneck prosecutor Louise Cohen, who is on the board of R.A.D.A.R. and the mother of teenagers herself, suggested keeping the Cove at Flint Park but having “separate nights for 9-10th graders and 11-12th graders to keep the numbers more manageable.” She stressed, “I think reviving the Cove in some way is very important. There needs to be a coalition of students, parents and community members to revive it.”

Ms. Myers was optimistic about finding a replacement for the Cove: “Groups such as the Youth Council like to work out solutions to problems. Kids come out with so many creative ideas. They can really think outside the box.”

Thanks to Louise Tutelian whose article on the Cove appeared in the November issue of Eye of the Tiger, the Mamaroneck High School PTSA newsletter.