Friday, October 24, 2008

To fight a liquor license...

...requires more than getting a denial from the Community Board.

The State Liquor Authority awards licenses, not the Community Board. The Community Board's decision is merely advisory to the SLA.

Effectively opposing a license requires taking a Tuesday off, going up to the SLA on 125th Street -- preferably with letters from local elected officials -- and testifying in opposition to the license. (You can find the exact date of a hearing on the SLA website here.)

It takes a couple of hours. That's one more reason to organize block associations: not everyone can spare a Tuesday to testify.

We're putting together a database for block associations. If you have a block association contact, please send it to me or to
quinnraymond@gmail.com
along with the location of the block association (include the cross streets, e.g., "6th Street Block Association, from A to 1st Ave").

Let's have a voice.

Thanks to those who have already sent BA contact information.

2 comments:

Jill said...

What I can't figure out is how to find out what finally happens with the State liquor license application so we can see who finally gets it and who doesn't. Any clues to getting that information?

rob said...

The State Liquor Authority (SLA) has a website with lots of information on it, though it's not always as up-to-date as it should be -- they are understaffed, like every government agency that regulates business.

http://www.abc.state.ny.us/

You can find the hearing dates and look up the status of a license applicant (that's the part that's sometimes out-of-date). The bar or restaurant name is often not the name of the applicant, but you can search by address.