Police stationed on Euclid Avenue on Friday morning said they will be writing citations for open containers on sidewalks, not front lawns.

Lt. Richard Shoff of the Syracuse Police Department said police can only write students up for bringing their drinks onto the sidewalk. But they can also card students on the front lawns on Euclid if the students appear to be under 21 years old, he said.

Although students have started to drink on their porches, no one as of approximately 11:30 a.m. has been cited or arrested by the police.

Police have been monitoring Euclid at present levels since 9:30 a.m. and will be there until 3 a.m. Saturday, Shoff said. Police cars and police on bicycles are stationed all along Euclid.

Police will be enforcing city ordinances no matter how large the partying gets, Shoff said. Police are most concerned with students violating noise and underage drinking laws, and students drinking in the street, he said.

Shoff said they are there to look out for the students’ safety and he encouraged students to take advantage of the activities at Walnut Park.

Some upperclassmen were beginning to drink on their front porches as of 11 a.m.

One house on the 400 block of Euclid Avenue had set up a temporary fence around their property so they can drink with their friends, though its residents had not begun drinking, said Neeraj Agrawa, a senior policy studies major who lives at that house.

“We’re trying to protect ourselves from overzealous cops trying to make their quota,” he said. “We understand the city’s broke, but we don’t want to pay for its repairs.”

Published on April 29, 2010 at 12:00 pm