City Hall monitors commerce on beaches and nightclubs to curb crowds this weekend

Integrated actions by Seop have already resulted in 107 kiosks and street vendors being inspected on the West Zone coast during the day, and 38 establishments having reported events at night. Photo: Disclosure/Seop

The Rio City Hall, through the Municipal Department of Public Order (SEOP), is carrying out several joint actions to monitor businesses and prevent crowds during this Independence Day holiday. Since Friday night, September 4, the task force has inspected 9 establishments (bars, nightclubs and party venues) after receiving reports of events during nighttime operations coordinated by the department, resulting in 38 fines for various irregularities, including non-compliance with measures to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.

During the day, 107 kiosks and street vendors were inspected on the coastline in the South and West zones, between Saturday and this Monday, a holiday. Today alone, the action on the beaches of Ipanema, Arpoador and Copacabana resulted in 33 street vendors being inspected, 20 infractions from the Urban Control Coordination Office of the Municipal Finance Department, in addition to the seizure of 196 irregular items, including 64 face masks. The operation removed nine vehicles (out of a total of 26 in three days on the coastline) for illegal parking.

Details of nighttime actions

– Between the night of Sunday, September 6th, and the early hours of Monday, September 9th, 7 establishments were inspected due to reports of unauthorized events and crowds in Jacarepaguá, Pilares, Madureira, Curicica, Bangu, Campo Grande and Barra da Tijuca. The event “Uma tarde de Domingo” (A Sunday Afternoon) was shut down at a nightclub in Jacarepaguá. The establishment was closed by the Health Surveillance Department and fined for lack of a permit by City Hall economic activity inspectors. In Madureira, another establishment was closed and fined for failing to comply with the municipal decree. In total, five fines were issued.

Between the night of Saturday, September 5th, and the early hours of Sunday, September 9th, 6 reports of unauthorized events were monitored in Anchieta, Vila da Penha, Ilha do Governador, Engenhão, Campo Grande, Bangu, Padre Miguel, Recreio dos Bandeirantes, Barra da Tijuca and Curicica, with five fines issued. In Vila da Penha and Ilha do Governador, two nightclubs were fined for lack of a permit and for having a permit that was not in compliance. A bar in Curicica was also fined for having a permit that was not in compliance, in addition to crowding. And a nightclub in Recreio dos Bandeirantes was fined for crowding.

Between the night of Friday, September 4th, and the early hours of Saturday, September 9th, seven of the 5 establishments inspected were closed, with one illegal event being shut down and nine fines issued in total. In terms of traffic, there were 9 violations, with six vehicles being towed. At Ponto Chic, in Padre Miguel, Seop needed the support of the Military Police to contain the crowd due to an unauthorized event: “Samba da Cabeça Branca”. The establishment that was promoting the party was fined, and all businesses in the area were closed to disperse the public. Two people at the location were also fined for not wearing masks.

Since Wednesday, September 2, 9 establishments have been inspected and 75 fines have been issued for various irregularities, including sanitary ones, in nighttime operations organized by SEOP. The neighborhoods visited were: Leblon, Barra da Tijuca, Bangu, Itanhangá, Olaria, Ilha do Governador, Vila da Penha, Cordovil, Madureira, Padre Miguel, Anchieta, Engenhão, Campo Grande, Recreio dos Bandeirantes, Curicica, Jacarepaguá and Pilares. The “A Sunday Afternoon” event ended at a nightclub in Jacarepaguá. 29 traffic violations were also recorded, with 45 vehicles towed for illegal parking around these establishments.

Beaches

– During the day, teams visited the West Zone waterfront on Saturday and Sunday, September 5th and 6th, where they inspected 9 kiosks. Of these, 65 were inspected by the Health Surveillance Agency, which issued five fines and partially closed two kiosks for improper food handling, lack of licensing and lack of sanitary conditions. A snack food truck was also ordered to close its doors. Eight street vendors were also inspected, with one ticketed, and 24 glass bottles of alcoholic beverages sold by a stallholder were seized. In addition, 58 vehicles were fined, and 18 of them were towed for illegal parking.

The supervisory bodies also act in isolated actions. The following are the separate surveys:

HEALTH SURVEILLANCE

On Monday (07/09), the Subsecretariat of Health Surveillance carried out six inspections in response to complaints from Central 1746. In the action, inspectors issued three infractions, two in a hotel at Rua Hilário de Gouveia, 17, in Copacabana, for lack of a health license and self-service; and another in a supermarket at Rua Senador Vergueiro, 51, in Flamengo, for products unfit for consumption.

From Thursday night (03/09) to Monday afternoon (07/09), the teams carried out 146 inspections in shopping malls, bars, restaurants, kiosks on the waterfront, among other establishments. The department's technicians issued 34 infractions, completely closing down a concert venue in Madureira due to repeated offenses, a restaurant in Anil due to crowding and live music, and a clandestine bar in Recreio. Two kiosks in Prainha were also partially closed. The closures were a joint action with the Municipal Department of Public Order (Seop).

Inspectors also visited the following neighborhoods: Catete, Grumari, Praia da Macumba, Copacabana, Bangu, Ilha do Governador, Ramos, Vila da Penha, Vista Alegre, Campo Grande and Curicica. Among the irregularities found were crowding, live music, lack of hygiene and lack of a health license.

MUNICIPAL FINANCE OFFICE

This weekend, the Licensing and Inspection Coordination Office fined six establishments for the irregular use of tables and chairs on the sidewalks, operating in violation of or without a business license. In total, 21 establishments were inspected by inspectors who worked in the neighborhoods of Realengo and Padre Miguel, Bangu, Campo Grande, Curicica (Jacarepaguá), Engenho de Dentro, Vila da Penha, Anchieta, Jardim Guanabara (Ilha), Anil and Pilares.

The Urban Control Coordination Office of the Municipal Finance Department reminds that street vendors who fail to comply with the rules in force in the decrees may be fined, have their merchandise seized and, if they persist in their irregularities, may even lose their street vendor license. During the actions on the beaches, the team inspected 62 stallholders at fixed points, 24 of whom were fined for unauthorizedly offering chairs, umbrellas and alcoholic beverages to beachgoers. The team also approached 72 unauthorized street vendors on the shore, who were advised to leave the public space.

In the vicinity of Rodoviária Novo Rio, agents identified five unauthorized street vendors who were instructed to leave the public space.

MUNICIPAL GUARD

The Municipal Guard continues daily patrols and inspections of health violations throughout the city, including the beaches, which have 81 agents working on the coast on weekends, in addition to the regular staff in the South and West zones. The number of notifications from the weekend will be consolidated in the next update of the statistics during this week.

Municipal guards from the Tourist Assistance Group provided 1.568 services to national and foreign visitors at the city's main tourist attractions.

Between June 5 and September 3, the Municipal Guard recorded 6.476 health fines, of which 5.200 (80,29%) were for failure to wear masks and 334 for crowding in establishments and on public roads. Of the total, 3.082 fines were issued by the Special Beach and Maritime Group, which patrols the sandbank. The agents also advise the public on the golden rules, prevent gambling, distribute protective masks to the public and have already removed hundreds of people from the beaches during the Blitz da Vida operation.

Municipal guards fined a bar and restaurant for crowding in public spaces and operating outside permitted hours on Avenida das Américas, in Recreio dos Bandeirantes, where a rave party was taking place on the morning of Monday the 7th.

The event began at 22 p.m. on Sunday and lasted until 7:30 a.m. on Monday. A team from the West Zone Special Traffic Group received a complaint from a citizen and went to the location to investigate. In addition to the health violations imposed on the commercial establishment, the agents requested support from a tow truck to remove five vehicles for parking on the sidewalk.