A set of liquor license regulations put in place to limit the proliferation of nightclubs in Midtown has inadvertently impeded the opening of other types of businesses. The local community board recently announced it will reassess the regulations.
“This document has not been updated for roughly 15 years,” said Yaran Roti-Victor, at a recent Community Board 5 meeting, where he chairs the task force charged with reforming what is referred to as the restricted licensing area, or RLA.
The restricted licensing area traces its roots to the late 1990s, when the community board adopted a resolution calling for the State Liquor Authority to institute a moratorium on liquor licenses in several areas of Midtown. Residents at the time complained of noise, congestion, unruly crowds and violence resulting from the nightclubs. But the strict rules also have stifled the growth of other businesses that want to offer alcohol.
The State Liquor Authority “can’t stop granting liquor licenses,” said the community board’s permitting committee chair, Janice Yong, at the recent meeting. “So at the very least, we tried to come up with guidelines as to what would be acceptable in any area.”
The restricted licensing area appears to have helped curb unruly crowds. While the population in the restricted licensing area has grown by approximately 22% since 2010, the number of noise complaints during prime nightlife hours (defined by the city as midnight to 4 a.m.) has stayed steady.
And while Manhattan has by far the most nightlife establishments of any of the boroughs, Brooklyn and Queens outpaced Manhattan in opening new establishments from 2011 to 2016, according to the most recent data available from the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment. The office also reported Manhattan’s wage growth in the sector was higher only than that of Staten Island during the same time frame.
The exact reforms being considered for liquor licensing are unclear. When asked for a comment from the task force chair, Josh Hughes, the board’s assistant manager, declined the request in an email that said, “Generally speaking, Community Boards and their members do not speak to the press.”
The restricted licensing area stipulates that a business must not have more than 4,000 square feet of usable space and must have a full-size kitchen, among other requirements, to get a liquor license.
But during the meeting, Roti-Victor noted businesses “aren’t neatly complying or fitting into what the RLA thought.”
Electric Shuffle NYC, on 30th Street, saw its opening delayed because of local liquor laws, according to Ricky Altamirano, an assistant general manager. He said the liquor license was “the last piece” in opening the shuffleboard-focused brunch restaurant and bar.
“It’s one of the things that’s the bane of every new operator’s existence,” he said, noting that the restaurant doesn’t “get much traction after 1 o’clock to 2 o’clock anyways.”
Electric Shuffle, which has two locations in Texas, ultimately hired a lobbyist to speed up the process in New York, said Altamirano.
If a business does not meet the restricted licensing area guidelines, it must receive a waiver from the community board before the State Liquor Authority grants it a license.
Jeff Armstrong, a Canadian businessman, received such a waiver for his new beauty salon in Flatiron, called Majesty’s Pleasure.
“Part of the application is you indicate what business type you are,” he said. “So you’d think that that, by de facto, helps triage the application.”
Even though he prevailed, Armstrong wishes there was a more streamlined process for businesses whose primary revenue streams are not alcohol.
Armstrong estimated the process to get liquor licenses for his two Majesty’s Pleasure locations in Toronto took “probably one-eighth” of the time it will take to get one in New York. He has yet to go before the State Liquor Authority.