Tag Archives: Community Board

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

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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 →

WED OCT. 1, VIP, STOP SIXTY DRINKERS IN OUR BACKYARDS….We Need You To Do Just a Few Minutes More…

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It’s confirmed that Earl’s is going for a capacity of SIXTY OUTDOOR CUSTOMERS stretched across THREE BACKYARDS, 1257, 1259 and 1261 Park Ave. (those neighbors who you spoke with who said “only a few people, no big deal”, get back to them now!)

See below after the pic for what else YOU can do today to help stop SIXTY hard drinking, chattering Earl’s customers from hanging outside THREE BUILDINGS’ WORTH OF BACKYARDS / outside your rear windows (and smoking outside your front windows) all hours of the day and night.

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Click on image above to enlarge: see which buildings will be affected by noisy drunks,kitchen odors, and cigarettes from Earl’s Beer and Cheese expanding in the backyard at 1259 Park Ave. (97th & 98th).

A/ If you are holding signed, hard copy petition pages with 1 or more signatures,  PLEASE either scan and email them to us, or fax them to us,  or reach out to us TODAY ASAP to meet so we can pick them up and make copies.

You can fax them to (877) 900-2360, email them to 9798lexpark@gmail.com or arrange pickup by phone at 929-286-1913.

B/ If you can and have not yet done so, please also SIGN ONLINE.

C/ If you are home today, please print our revised flyer and give it to your neighbors who haven’t signed, and hand it to people in the street.

D/ Before you come to the Community Board 11 Meeting tonight, WEDNESDAY, October 1, at 6 PM, please take a few moments and…

E/ Call or go online to 311 today (you can do it anonymously) and file, crowds, noise and/or cigarette nuisance complaints, and add to the complaints already filed over non-permitted renovations in the backyard.

F/ Email our local elected officials, including the Community Board, and politely clue them in on why Earl’s expansion should be opposed.

G/ Try and come early to the Community Board 11 Meeting, tonight at 6 PM. It’s a small space…. Some neighbors may be meeting at the NE corner of  98th and Park at 5:30 PM to share car service or a taxi.

And finally, check this for some inspiration….

See you tonight!

There’s Hope! “Long Island City restaurateurs hit roadblocks in bids for backyard seating…”

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Long Island City restaurateurs hit roadblocks in bids for backyard seating

Two eatery owners say it’s nearly impossible to open up rear outdoor seating in the booming dining district.

BY LISA L. COLANGELO, MELISSA CHAN, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS, Monday, June 30, 2014, 2:00 AM

Sometimes good fences aren’t enough to make good neighbors.

A Long Island City restaurateur claims a “moratorium” on backyard gardens has taken a bite out of the booming dining district after his bid for outdoor seating was nixed twice.

“There’s a high demand in this area for nice dining options outside,” said Alobar owner Jeff Blath. “People love coming here for brunch, but on a nice day they want to sit outside. They just go somewhere else.”

Blath, 40, offered to install high fences, ban external audio speakers and close at 10 p.m. to get approval, but his bid has been rejected by Community Board 2 twice since 2010 due to noise complaints from residents.

“We look at everything on a case by case basis,” said Joseph Conley, who chairs the board and insisted no moratorium on backyard gardens exists. “There was uproar from his neighbors directly affected.”…

For full article click here.

And then come back and make sure you have the latest flyer and blank petitions, and get your neighbors to the Community Board 11 Meeting, Wednesday, October 1 at 6 PM. 1664 Park Avenue at 117th Street.