|
Testimony
of State Senator Liz Krueger Before the
State
Liquor Authority Regarding the Embassy Bar
November 16, 2005
My name is Liz Krueger and I am the State Senator
representing the 26th Senate District which includes the East Side
of Manhattan and parts of Midtown. I
am here to express my opposition to Ohmsayin Inc.’s application for an
on-premises liquor license for Embassy at 862 Second Avenue. Mr. Jonathan Hoo, Embassy’s owner, has
proposed a bar located within 500 feet of several licensed establishments and
its opening will negatively affect the community’s public interest. I urge
the State Liquor Authority to fulfill its responsibilities under the Alcoholic
Beverage Control Laws and reject the bar’s application.
Section 64 of the Alcohol and Beverage Control laws
requires the State Liquor Authority to reject any on-premises liquor license application
“in a city, town or village having a population of twenty thousand or more
within five hundred feet of three existing premises licensed and operating
pursuant to the provisions of section.”
The law grants an exemption for those establishments which demonstrates
that they will serve the “public interest.”
Within 500 feet of Embassy, nine establishments currently
hold on-premise liquor licenses. Of
these existing establishments, two serve liquor past midnight after their
kitchens have closed. Considering the
impact an additional bar will have in the Turtle Bay
neighborhood, the opening of Embassy will negatively impact the community’s public
interest in several respects. The
proposed bar is located within the densely residential Turtle Bay
neighborhood and near several tall high rise residential buildings along Second Avenue. Bars and restaurants serving as bars in the
after hours operate up and down Second
Avenue and an additional bar is not needed. My office has been contacted by over 200
constituents expressing their opposition to the bar. Additionally, the bar is opposed by the
Turtle Bay Association and Community Board Six. Embassy’s statements before Community Board
Six should be considered when determining whether the bar will be good
neighbors and serve the communities public interest. The proposed bar claims that it will
operate a restaurant, but will also be removing tables after lunch, will hire
two “security” guards and a DJ for after hours and will operate 7 days per
week between 11 A.M. and 4 A.M. The
description suggests that Embassy will operate primarily as a bar, not a
restaurant, contributing to noise and overcrowding in the area. The SLA
should consider the impacts the proposed establishment will have on the
surrounding community.
For all these reasons, I oppose the pending liquor license
application for Embassy.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
|
