For Manayunk businesses and residents, it's early in the game on a proposal to extend bar hours to 3 a.m. citywide.

Proposed by At-large Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown (D), the bill, in its current form, is simple: "to provide for the sale of liquor and malt or brewed beverages until 3 a.m. by certain or all liquor licensees, under certain terms and conditions," according to the text.

According to numerous reports, Reynolds Brown explained that extending closing time from 2 to 3 a.m. would generate $5 million in revenue, which would go directly to the School District of Philadelphia. That funding would combat the $61 million deficit the district is carrying.

On Twitter, Reynolds Brown explained both the bar bill and a proposal to sell advertising on school buses by saying: "If we can increase $$ for schools w/out raising property taxes then we owe it to students & taxpayers to have that conversation."

With numerous bars on and along Main Street, Manayunk would easily feel the potential law's impact—positively or negatively.

The Manayunk Development Corporation currently has no comment, Executive Director Jane Lipton said. She is polling business owners and will convene with her board next week to draft an official position.

For the Manayunk Neighborhood Council, it was easy to quickly oppose the measure.

"The best thing is to head this off early. It's counter... to what we've been trying to do for the past 10 years," President Kevin Smith said.

Specifically, the MNC has worked to curtail late hours for new businesses at around midnight or 1 a.m. in Manayunk. Extending drinking an hour is something the civic group opposes—and it unanimously voted against the proposal.

Even if the city approves the measure, the point could be moot if the commonwealth rejects it. State Rep. Vanessa Lowery Brown (D-190) plans to introduce a bill to allow city to change the rule.

Representing Manayunk and Roxborough, Rep. Pam DeLissio (D-194) said she was unaware if the bill had been introduced at the state level, and hadn't yet developed a position.

"There's going to be a lot of opinions on whether that additional hour" impacts the violent crime rate, she said. "That means it's an hour later for some neighborhoods that are so closely affiliated with the bar scene, like it is here in Manayunk, that those neighborhoods are disrupted—potentially on any given evening."

Some residents argued that $5 million wasn't a large enough figure to justify the burden, adding police presence would intensify and what would the cost amount to.

"You're going to bring in $5 million, but what's that going to cost you to produce? If it costs you $2 million to produce that $5, then your net is $3 million, which is even less," DeLissio said. 

She did say the bill underscores the problems with public education funding.

"To me, the issue is that basic education funding should not be predicated upon passing a law where we are keeping our bars open to 3 a.m.," she said.

The bill was introduced Jan. 26 and assigned to the Committee on the Whole.

Requests for comment to Councilman Curtis Jones, Jr. (D-4) were not returned.