The Oswego State administration has implemented plenty of alternative to Bridge Street Run (BSR), but according to some Oswego business owners, BSR will always be a welcome addition to the community.

With the annual bar crawl along Oswego’s Bridge Street inching closer and closer—it always falls on the last day of classes for the academic year—the Student Association and the Student Association Programming Board have also been readying the on-campus alternate event, OzFest.

According to SA President Emily Nassir, about 300 tickets have been sold, which is around the same amount sold at this time last year.

BSR was noticeably less crowded last year, as noted by Chip Tesoriero, the owner of The Ferris Wheel Supper Club and Hurricanes Dance Club.

Tesoriero believes students were discouraged from participating in BSR last year because of tougher law enforcement practices and the newly introduced OzFest. However, he anticipates this year will be as crowded as previous years and will take the measures he always has to prepare, which includes staffing more people.

“I would rather have to send people home than not have them there,” Tesoriero said.

Julio Valenzuela, an assistant manager at Azteca Mexican Grill, also feels that students were afraid to participate in BSR last year but thinks more students will attend this year because of the concert.

“I think a lot of people left the concert early because it got to the point where it just tires you out because you’re coming down from your drinking buzz or whatever you want to call it,” Valenzuela said. “So I think this year not a lot of people will be going to the show.”

Valenzuela also thinks that the musical acts this year will deter people from attending the concert.

“Last year, the biggest name was obviously Big Sean, but any other artist that came along was big enough to make people want to go, even if Big Sean wasn’t there,” Valenzuela said. “I feel like this year more people are going to be going out for Bridge Street Run and we’re going to see the same amount of people going out as years prior to the first OzFest.”

One establishment that does not participate in BSR is the Clubhouse Tavern. Owner Robert McGrath explained that this is because of the size of his bar.

“By the time I get my regular patrons in here, it would be disruptive because I’m so small,” McGrath said.

McGrath used to participate in BSR by utilizing the deck outside the Clubhouse Tavern, but found it difficult because he was doing a lot of preparations by himself. Now, the only reason he does not participate is because of capacity. Otherwise, he is supportive of Oswego State students.

“It’s a great affair,” McGrath said of BSR. “The kids are supportive of my bar year-round. I try to take care of them with specials during the school year. During the summer, I employ a lot of college kids at my outside bar. I don’t have any issues with it.”

Frank “Franco” Dippolito is the owner of Franco’s Pizza, a popular attraction for college students after a night at the bars. He sees BSR as a positive event for local businesses.

“It’s great for business; it’s great for downtown,” Dippolito said. “It’s part of college. They’ve been doing it for so many years. Last year, they didn’t have many problems. I think it turned out pretty well.”

Despite the calmness of last year’s BSR, Dippolito saw a slightly better turnout than previous years. He views OzFest as a positive event.

“The people that were out last year were more ‘21,’” Dippolito joked. “Putting on that show I think deterred a lot of the underage students to come down and I think that’s why we didn’t have so many problems…I mean, it’s a good thing that they’re doing that down there. It deters [students] from coming down. I think the police officers scared them last year; they were all going to be on patrol and all that stuff. It actually worked out pretty well.”

Greene’s Ale House is one of the last stops on the Bridge Street Run. According to owner Sean Ohnmacht, it is the only bar on the left side of the street.

Ohnmacht bought Greene’s in 2007 and had been an advocate for opening up the bar to BSR participants even beforehand. Before 2007, Greene’s did not participate in BSR, but now charges a cover and usually features a live band.

“It’s an older crowd most of the time and we didn’t want to deal with the shenanigans, but it’s hard to pass up a payday like that,” Ohnmacht said.

He sees why people would be discouraged by BSR, but understands the value in it in terms of small businesses.

“If you’re like The Front Door, which is the first stop, they really rely on Bridge Street Run,” Ohnmacht said.

Ohnmacht noted that while OzFest is a “good thing” for the college, he feels that BSR will never end.

“The only way to ever end Bridge Street Run is to get all of the bar owners together and agree to not let anyone in, and that will never, ever happen,” Ohnmacht said. “Some of those people really rely on it. Those first three bars can make a lot of money and the kids aren’t even drunk yet.  You get over in this part of town where they’re used to kids being rowdy, around The Sting and around downtown, that’s when kids start getting drunk and in fights.”

It would appear that the general consensus among business owners is that BSR benefits the community in terms of bringing in profits for local businesses. Some feel OzFest is also beneficial, while others feel that it will not help deter students from drinking.

“I feel like this is something that is going to be going on in Oswego forever,” Valenzuela said. “Instead of trying to look for an alternative, I think what should be emphasized is the security—double forms of ID, guidelines or something that the city or the school can arrange in order to make this a little more safe and organized for everyone.”