This entire opinion piece leaves something out of the conversation that is equally important – until neighbors who have actual legitimate issues with an establishment have a functional ABRA system with which to lodge complaints and get prompt resolution exists, the protest option is the ONLY option. As is, even simple noise complaints take OVER A YEAR to get adjudicated, and only result in paltry $500 fines. If there was an efficient system that could deal with the handful of bad operators quickly, then the good operators would not have issues. Instead of spending his time complaining that City Council is not passing out ABRA licenses like Halloween candy to anyone who wants one and promises to behave, perhaps he and the other operators could push for actual comprehensive reform, including swifter, stiffer penalties for those who are out of compliance. If residents felt they could actually trust the system and that rules would actually be enforced, we wouldn’t feel like we had to maximize our power using the ONLY method available to us.