The decision was made without a prior hearing, but next Monday the municipal executive will vote on a proposal to ratify this decision.
The proposal, signed by Rui Moreira, indicates that a series of establishments located in residential areas have been experiencing “a growing and troubling number of criminal incidents, along with a high volume of complaints from nearby residents, describing ongoing nighttime disturbances on the street caused by groups gathering in the early hours, as well as disruptive noise from the interiors of these establishments, audible within surrounding homes.”
The proposal now up for a vote specifies the measures taken for the Eskada nightclub on Rua da Alegria and the Shisha Moon Lounge on Rua de Álvaro de Castelões, amongst other establishments with revised opening hours.
These businesses are all situated in the same building, which is on the corner of two streets, with entrances on Rua Visconde de Setúbal Nos. 15, 33, and 45, and Rua da Constituição Nos. 612, 616, 650, and 656.
The proposal states that the police reported “20 recent incidents of criminal significance related to assaults, drug trafficking, disturbances, and thefts, both inside and outside the existing commercial gallery” within this building.
Regarding Eskada, the police reported 18 recent “criminally significant incidents related to assaults, disturbances, and thefts, both inside and outside the establishment.”
The nightclub, previously operating between midnight and 6 a.m., will now be allowed to open from 8:00 p.m. and close at midnight from Sunday to Thursday, and at 4:00 a.m. on Fridays, Saturdays, and the eve of holidays.
For the Shisha Moon Lounge, Rui Moreira notes that the municipal police have “frequently been called to the location due to complaints of disturbing noise in nearby residences, coming from both inside and outside the establishment.”
This venue will be allowed to open at 8:00 p.m. and close at midnight from Sunday to Thursday, and at 2:00 a.m. on Fridays, Saturdays, and the eve of holidays.
“The series of incidents observed demonstrate, by their severity and nature, that the security in the primarily residential areas where these establishments are located, as well as the quality of life for those living or spending time there, is seriously compromised,” writes Rui Moreira.
The mayor justifies the “urgent measure” of reducing operating hours without a prior hearing with “the risk of even more serious events occurring, potentially resulting in irreparable harm to the integrity and dignity of people and property, as well as the imperative need to restore public peace and order in the affected areas.”
In September 2023, the Ministry of Internal Administration (MAI) ordered the closure of the Eskada nightclub for a maximum period of six months, with concerns regarding the venue’s maximum capacity assessment, as well as a request made to the National Authority for Emergency and Civil Protection (ANEPC) to clarify issues related to emergency exits and fire hydrants.
At the time, Rui Moreira was asked what the city council could have done to address the problems reported by residents and stated that “there was no possibility to intervene in matters of protection and security.”
At the end of October of the same year, the MAI ordered the lifting of the closure measure on the nightclub following inspections conducted by the police and ANEPC.
