By George P. Hassett

Each Friday and Saturday night Joe Arcari watches the crowds empty out of the Joshua Tree to fill the bar across the street. Drinkers at that bar, the Burren, have an extra hour to drink down their favorite spirits courtesy of their 2 a.m. license.

Arcari said making the situation worse is a rule imposed on the Burren not allowing them to allow new customers in after 1 a.m. He said his customers begin their exodus at 12 a.m. to make sure they catch an extra hour of drinking across the street.

And now he wants to reclaim that extra hour for his business and is pursuing an effort to get his own 2 a.m. license. He said it is a question of fairness.

“I want the same thing the Burren has,” he said. “They’re right across the street from me and my customers are leaving from 12:15 on to go there. I’ve been in this neighborhood as long as they have. Why shouldn’t I get what they get from the city?” he said.

Arcari said he opposed the Licensing Commission’s decision to extend drinking hours in the city two years ago on a case by case basis with each bar applying individually.

“I was never a 2 a.m. guy but I do want my 12 to 1 business back,” he said.

However, some Davis Square residents believe granting another 2 a.m. license will leave their neighborhood overrun with crime and drunks from Belmont and Arlington stumbling in the streets.

“The Joshua Tree is a good outfit. The Burren is a good outfit. The 2 a.m. license is the problem,” said Jim Campano at a Davis Square Task Force meeting. “When we get people from out of town puking in the streets at 2:30 and [Davis Square] becomes Central Square, I hope they stick around.”

“Who’s next? Orleans? Mike’s? Johnny D’s?” said Alderman-at-Large John M. Connolly.

“We’ll have to double up on the crime watches block by block because that’s where we’re heading [if more bars get a 2 a.m. license],” Lee Auspitz said. “As it is I’m up every Saturday morning at 2:00 listening to people howl at the moon.”

Arcari’s lawyer Rich Digirolamo said task force members had some valid points. “But when the city opened the doors for 2 a.m. licenses things became cloudy,” he said.

“It’s inherently unfair to allow a competing business across the street to stay open an extra hour. In such a close proximity we think a level playing field is fair,” he said.

Campano said it will be hard to deny the Joshua Tree a 2 a.m. license after the Burren received one. “When the Burren got through it was over,” he said.

Chamber of Commerce President Stephen Mackey said a domino effect of other bars in the neighborhood applying for 2 a.m. licenses is unlikely. However, he said some establishments do need the extra hour though to compete with Boston and Cambridge dining options. “We’re closer to downtown Boston than much of Boston itself. Our dining and nightlife business compete with the whole region. We need a level playing field,” he said.