Juris Saliņš has been living in his renovated property in the Old Town for almost 20 years. His home is in the area of Grēcinieku, Mārstaļu and Audēju Street, but Juris is sure that his dissatisfaction is shared by other residents of the Old Town. Bars and outdoor terraces can be open indefinitely, but one nearby bar, for example, has opening hours until 10 am on weekends.
"If a bar is allowed to open until 10 am on Sundays, when are we residents supposed to relax?" Juris asked.
He has stopped counting how many times he had called the municipal police. Juris said that the police respond to calls, but the results, in his opinion, are rather ineffective.
A hotel close to a nightlife spot has purchased earplugs six months in advance. Gatis Graudiņš, the hotel's representative, told 4. studija that he is not against the Old Town as a place for entertainment, but that the situation has recently gotten out of control.
"As an example, we have six hotels in Tallinn, one of which is in a similar location in the Old Town. In Tallinn, there is a law that alcohol can be sold until 2 am on weekdays and until 3 am on weekends. This makes a big difference," said Graudiņš.
For the first year, the hotel has given up the restaurant's outdoor terrace, where guests can have a drink in the summer because it has not been able to protect the terrace from night-time partygoers and regular mess. The hotel has reached an agreement with one owner of an entertainment venue in the neighborhood for cleaning works. On Monday mornings, the front of the hotel is being washed as it has been drenched in alcohol and spit on. Hotel staff sometimes call law enforcement two or three times a night, but the municipal police do not have the resources to come so often.
From May to the end of September there have been 107 police calls in the Old Town.
"Taxis arrive at 8 am, guests are going to the airport, and what do they see five meters from them getting into the taxi - someone getting drunk, someone throwing up on our building, someone getting beaten up. Right there, an ambulance is picking up the fallen. This is what happens, this is a real story," the hotel spokesman said.
Juris has appealed to the Riga City Council to take action and eliminate the causes of disorder by limiting the opening hours of bars so that the Emergency Medical Service and the police do not have to deal with the consequences on a regular basis. However, he received formal answers that the city should let the merchants make a profit.
Riga City councilors said they understand and defend the interests of their residents, who pay both the property tax and the personal income tax into the city budget, however, no municipality - including the capital - has the power to influence the opening hours of entertainment venues.
"The Ministry of Economics should take a conceptual decision that municipalities in Latvia may license - this would be the most logical of solutions - such night entertainment venues, setting the relevant requirements. We have talked about this quite a lot in recent years, but we have not yet heard such a willingness from the EM to show such trust in Latvian municipalities," said Linda Ozola, Deputy Mayor of Riga, who is responsible for Riga's public order and security issues.
"It is important for them that the Old Town is not forgotten so that merchants can at least make some money. Yes, corporate income tax, VAT, excise duty - what these merchants generate - this is the revenue base of the state budget," Ozola said.
