UPPER EAST SIDE — A popular bar on the Upper East Side has drawn the ire of locals who say its revelers are ruining the neighborhood with noisy and lewd boozed-fueled antics.
The Stumble Inn, located at 1454 Second Ave. near East 76th Street, is a "drunk mill" for young, inebriated patrons, residents complained at a 19th Precinct Community Council meeting on Monday.
"They're just mushrooming like crazy," said Orit Saigh, who lives on the block, of the bar-goers. "It's like a drunk mill there."
About a dozen locals at the meeting said the street becomes particularly packed around closing time at 4 a.m., when they say fraternity-aged youngsters stumble into traffic and taxi drivers looking for fares honk their horns.
Deputy Inspector Ted Berntsen, commanding officer of the 19th Precinct, said that his hands are tied, however. Cops can't crack down on a bar that doesn't have criminal complaints against it, he told attendees in the meeting.
The 19th Precinct, which polices the Upper East Side, has even sent undercover officers into Stumble Inn to see if the bar sells to underage customers or whether drugs were being sold. The bar "passed the test," through, Berntsen said.
"If there's a place that's giving us a hard time, I know how to take care of the place," he said, but "it has to be done the right way."
That did little to put locals at ease.
Lydna Wertheim, who also lives on the block, said she and other neighbors were frustrated by the bar's noise.
"We don't want the restaurant to close. All we care about is the noise," she said. "We need help. We're not sure where to go."
Stumble Inn management declined to comment.
