Scruffy outcome for Irish pub
NSW Police have announced they will oppose a plan to expand one of Sydney’s most controversial pubs, only days after Council recommended the application be approved.
Earlier this year the Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel lodged a Development Application to take over a former pornographic cinema next door, with the aim of converting it into a multi-storey, 24-hour drinking hole with seating for more than 400 people.
Last week, City of Sydney Council released a 27-page report on the application. According to the report, a meeting was held at Council between the owner, applicant, council officers and the City Central Local Area Command Police. “Police raise no objections to the proposal based on the deletion of the basement day club/lounge bar and no increase in patron capacity to the existing Scruffy Murphy’s hotel areas,” the summary of the report read.
But NSW Police said they had not been consulted on the matter. “As the proposal is in its early stages, police have not yet been asked for any input on the matter,” a police spokesperson said. “In general terms however, police will strongly oppose any application for expansion.”
A Council spokesperson stood by the report, saying it was “100 per cent accurate”.
“We received written submissions from the police and met with them on separate occasions,” the Council spokesperson said. City News asked for details on the submissions and meetings with the police, but the spokesperson declined to comment further.
Malcolm McGuinness, owner of Scruffy Murphy’s, said he did not expect Council to approve the development application. “I don’t think it’ll make it anyway, but we’ll see,” he said.
In 2007, police sought to shut down the pub through the Supreme Court after a spate of alcohol-related violence. In response, Mr McGuinness introduced a voluntary 3am lock-out – the first in the CBD.
In the same year, Mr McGuinness appeared before the Equal Opportunity Division of the Administrative Decisions Tribunal to defend allegations his bouncers were profiling patrons based on race. He admitted he had banned males of Arab and Islander appearance in order to “maintain a safe environment” for his staff and patrons.
Mr McGuinness believed his pub had been unfairly targeted after it found itself on the Government’s infamous list of the state’s worst 48 hotels in terms of assaults. “We should never have been on that list in the first place. But you’ll see next month when the new list comes out that we’re not even on it,” Mr McGuinness said.
Kings Cross resident Michael Kazonis said although he hadn’t been to Scruffy Murphy’s, he was aware of the pub’s controversial racial profiling policy and reputation for violence.
He said he would support the planned expansion as long as the new site was used for the right reasons. “Some places they want to extend so they can have functions and stuff like that – that’s fine, I agree with that,” he said.
“But if they are doing it to get more space to get more people drunk, then no, I don’t [support it]. I don’t want more drunk people vomiting and pissing in my backyard.”
Fatima Bozoglu, who owns Ozturk kebab shop near Scruffy Murphy’s, said she was happy to hear the pub was expanding. “I’d even be happy if they were open all day – we’ll get more business,” Mrs Bozoglu said. “Because of the drunk kids we make money – I don’t know, it doesn’t bother me.”
“All the businesses you see around here are making money from places like that, even the police are making money, so I don’t know why they complain for.”
Irish tourists Linda Nolan and Rachel McDermott, enjoying a Saturday afternoon drink, didn’t know what all the fuss was about. “We thought it was empty for this time of the day when we came in, we thought it was very quiet,” Ms Nolan said.
“It’s a good pub – the staff are friendly and the food is cheap.”
by Ehssan Veiszadeh
