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.
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