On at least two occasions in the past month, a box truck from Del’s Amusements was seen pulled up in front of The Empire Theatre, to unload arcade games. This was despite the New Shoreham Town Council’s deciding to not amend the Zoning Ordinances to once again allow arcades, or game rooms, on Block Island.There had been several game rooms on the island that were grandfathered in when changes were made to the Zoning Ordinances, most likely in 1994. (No one seems to know why, but they simply may have just not been included as an allowable use when revisions were being made.)The arcade at the Empire opened after the Zoning changes, and owner Gary Pollard admitted that he was allowed the licenses due to an error at Town Hall.Today, any business is allowed up to two games, and only one, Club Soda, has retained the right to have more. This year Club Soda applied for licenses for four table games. There is a license fee of $150 per game.Pollard had asked for the ordinances to be amended earlier this year, and he obtained a
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