Bangor grants G-Force amusement license with conditions

BANGOR, Maine (WABI) - A Bangor entertainment business will be able to continue after receiving its special amusement license - with conditions.

Police responded to a shooting outside of G-Force Entertainment in the Bangor Mall in February and discovered that the venue didn’t have a special amusement permit.

No one was injured.

Since then, G-Force has had to cut hours and events, threatening the business’s survival.

Roughly a dozen supporters, including local artists, came forward supporting G-Force’s role in the local economy and as a performance space.

Police then shared their concerns with safety.

The council voted unanimously to grant the license with the condition that management meet with police, the code officer and the city solicitor within 30-60 days to ensure that a discussed safety plan has been implemented.

“That destroyed our business,” G-Force CEO Brian Plavnick said. “Regardless if you vote yes or no, there’s a very strong possibility we’re going to close because we had to cancel everything for this month. We had to cancel everything moving forward. We lost deposits, we had to give refunds on tickets.”

“The Police Department’s concerns align mostly with on-premises overconsumption and disorderly behavior, Bangor Police Chief Mark Hathaway said. “The Plavnicks shared with us some of their strategies that they had already in place, some of their plans that they hope to introduce.”

Those measures include bag checks, improved security training, safe serving training, security outside and fixing the video system.

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