Tag Archives: CB 11 Licensing Committee

NY SLA Denies Outdoor Beer & Wine Permit To Earl’s Beer and Cheese!

#KeepResidentialBackyardsRESIDENTIAL, Board of Health, Department of Buildings, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

#KeepResidentialBackyardsRESIDENTIAL

May 6, 2015

Short update, more to follow.

Late yesterday afternoon, the NY State Liquor Authority denied the application of Earl’s Beer and Cheese to serve beer and wine in their backyards, yards faced in by hundreds of residents in eleven walk-up buildings on the Western half of East 97th and 98th Streets, between Park and Lexington. That’s in the southern end of East Harlem. Or the northern end of the Upper East Side… aka us, 97-98 Lexington and Park Ave. Neighbors…

(click to expand photo). Red arrows are all buildings with air-sound access to the proposed backyard beer joint.
(click to expand photo).
Red arrows are all buildings with air-sound access to the proposed backyard beer joint.

Towards the end of the NY SLA hearing, the attorney for Earl’s repeated previously-voiced threats that if they lost the hearing, the owner, Michael Cesari, will serve food-only in the backyards, 7 days a week.

In our humble opinion, given the overwhelming consensus of the SLA agreeing with the majority of the rear-window-facing neighbors who objected to Cesari (or anyone else!) doing any business in the residential backyards, Cesari will be doing this out of spite, and his customers should know about it.

Get ready… Continue reading NY SLA Denies Outdoor Beer & Wine Permit To Earl’s Beer and Cheese! →

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Fire hazard behind Earls?

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Bad enough the owner of Earl’s Beer and Cheese is using the backyard as a construction site, building up his interior reno in the backyard (so he doesn’t disturb his customers inside with the work… the hell with all of us neighbors with our windows facing the yard, listening to him hammering away outside, day and night…).

According to his landlord earlier this afternoon, he has been told to stop.

Now he’s got his flammable material piled up adjacent to, and up against the rear wall of the very residential building he rents his storefront in. 

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Picture taken 1845 pm 05/01/15
EarlsDebris EarlsDebris2
(Click on photos to enlarge)
I’m no expert, but surely this is unsafe.

REVISED 05/06/15: Resident-Focused Policies For Backyard/Rooftop/Sidewalk Bars

Board of Health, Department of Buildings, Yaffa, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
REVISED 05/06/15 Resident-Focused Policies For Backyard/Rooftop/Sidewalk Bars

Attention CB11M, & CB11M Licenses & Permits Committee
re: revising the Application process for outdoor, sidewalk or rooftop bar & restaurant expansions.

This document is available as a PDF on request: contact 9798Lexpark@gmail.com

INTRODUCTION:
Community Board 11M’s Licensing & Permits Committee is in the midst of revising their application process for bars trying to open or expand into residential backyards & rooftops. They briefly discussed it at the last two meetings, & we are hoping to help them come up with new procedures ASAP, before any more blocks are disrupted by outdoor bars & restaurants that ruin the lives of those who live above & next to them.

Because the previous L&P Chairwoman recently moved to another Committee, last winters’ CB11M L&P meetings never had a chance to get started on

“a. Committee discussion on establishing a review procedures
ii. Liquor Licenses in rear yards & roof tops”

The new Chair has stated he is interested in the process but has not yet added the above to his agenda yet.

Our suggestions are at least partially due to the ongoing noise & friction raised during our community’s battle to stop Earl’s Beer & Cheese from expanding into 3 adjacent backyards. Visit WWW.9798LexPark.com for the details on that issue. We hope to avoid a repeat situation, similar to the contentious fights over Earls, where our block association had to attend 4 NY SA hearings before prevailing, & we pray that the Chair starts this review as soon a possible.

We are leaning very strongly to opposing all commercial & entertainment-type development in NYC residential backyards, with or without liquor, but in the interim, if these proposals are at least reviewed & taken into consideration and some are implemented, we are open to the CB’s serious revision of the process.

CURRENT SITUATION:
Currently the CB11M L&P committee requires a semi-detailed application, as well as posting on the door of the bar & “200 feet” from the establishment only SEVEN DAYS ahead of the hearing, & require “circulated petitions of support”; these latter vague & short-date requirements giving neighbors virtually no notice to find out the hours, details of operation (i.e., HOW LOUD, HOW LARGE ARE THE NEW CROWDS), to show their support or opposition, etc. And in the past, even that minimum posting requirement has been ignored.

Being grateful that the CB11M Licensing Committee has, on their own, suggested requiring more affected residents’ approval for future bar expansions, we have created a set of modest suggestions for how CB11M can revise their application process.

We hope this could become a city-wide issue to help both renters & residential property owners stop the noise & the lessening of the quality of life outside their rear windows, & on their street-side of their blocks as well.
Continue reading REVISED 05/06/15: Resident-Focused Policies For Backyard/Rooftop/Sidewalk Bars →

URGENT – CB meeting Wed. 12/3! + SLA letters details

Earl's Beer and Cheese, State Liquor Authority, , , ,

Very Urgent re Earls Beer & Cheese in the backyards:

Dear Neighbor:

The Community Board 11 Licensing Committee meeting is tomorrow night at 6 PM, Wed. Dec. 3, and they have 2 very important items on their agenda, and we need as many neighbors there as possible.

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Date: 6 PM, Wed. Dec. 3

Location: Board Office, 1664 Park Avenue, (117th -118th St.)

Agenda:

1. Liquor Licenses

d. Suds & Spirits d/b/a Crosstown Tavern. Application for Alteration of existing OP Full Liquor License at 1259 Park Avenue, North Store, to expand inside premises for more seating.

4. New Business

a. Committee discussion on establishing a review procedures

ii. Liquor Licenses in rear yards and roof tops 

http://cb11m.org/node/1856

Please talk with your neighbors about this and please get to the Community Board tomorrow at 6 PM.

We must attend the above CB meeting tomorrow to oppose the expansion of “Suds” aka The Guthrie Inn, as they will (a) bring crowds of more drunks and smokers outside our front windows on the sidewalks in front of the bar and around the surrounding corners, and (b) they will eventually try to go into the backyards with Earls.

(Hat tip, JS).

We also must demand:

that the Community Board requires and accepts more input from neighbors on applications for backyards.

that the Community Board visit not just the applicants location but visit apartments in every building that face the applicants proposed yards and test for themselves how much can be heard from the yards in the apartments.

that applicants must hire acoustic engineers, and that unless the applications for the expansions show that they are fully sound proofed and fully enclosed, THE APPLICATIONS MUST BE DENIED.

that no Community Board Members may speak on or vote on bar applications if they are customers of that establishment.

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Regarding the letters to the (State Liquor Authority) SLA against Earls expansion into the backyards:

If you sent yours already, thank you for the good work. If you haven’t, the deadline is noon Thursday, Dec. 4th.  The contact info is below.

PLEASE GO TO YOUR NEIGHBORS AND GET THEM TO WRITE OPPOSITION LETTERS AND EMAIL OR FAX THEM ASAP (contact info below). 

If you need us to fax for you, call us and we will arrange  fax for you.

Notice also below, there WILL be a full SLA hearing for Earls “in front of the Members of the Authority” on Wed., Dec 10, in Harlem.

See next article for more details.

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