Dept. of Licenses & Ejections: Bouncers will require training

HANG ON, big fella.

A bill that would require bouncers to receive proper training and register with the city before they start working in a club was approved yesterday by City Council's Committee on Licenses and Inspections.

The bill was introduced earlier this year by Councilman Bill Greenlee, who was inspired to put legislation together after reading stories about out-of-control bouncers in a May issue of the Daily News.

Greenlee said yesterday that he hopes the bill will come before Council for a final vote before the end of the year.

"This is something we need to get a hold of," Greenlee said, after listening to testimony from attorney Michael Saile Jr.

Saile represented Dean Bowser, a suburban man who was beaten by bouncers and thrown through a glass door - he lost a chunk of his left arm in the process - during an altercation inside the Field House bar, in Center City, in 2008.

The incident highlighted a larger problem with a line of work in which there is little to no training or accountability.

Greenlee's bill will require bouncers to receive city-approved training courses from third-party agencies within 45 days of getting hired to work at a bar or club.

Bouncers will have to register with the city by submitting a completed training certificate that includes their address and phone number.

The registration would be revoked if a bouncers were convicted of any crimes or failed to complete additional training.

The bill also calls for bar and club owners to do a criminal-history check on every bouncer they hire.