NY Bars Closing @ 2AM not 4AM?

[danceshake01]

http://gothamist.com/2008/04/17/2_am_closing_ti.php

APRIL 17, 2008

2 a.m. Closing Time Becoming Norm for Manhattan Bars

When Hog Pit co-owner Felisa Dell sent an email to Eater on April 7th confirming the closure of her Meatpacking District BBQ joint, she insinuated that “the mayor and the State Liquor Authority are now only issuing Liquor Licenses until 2 a.m. It's very sneaky, but in 5 years the 4 a.m. liquor license will be a thing of the past, without any community input.†Today the NY Sun backs Dell up, reporting that many Manhattan bar owners are finding it “nearly impossible to open new nightlife establishments that are permitted to serve alcohol until 4 a.m.â€

While the New York State Liquor Authority can’t arbitrarily impose a specific closing time before 4 a.m., Community Boards have been demanding bar owners agree to curfews before they recommend approval to the SLA. The Sun looked at the most recent records available from Community Board 3, which covers the East Village and the Lower East Side, and found that not a single liquor license recommendation was granted to a bar that would close after 3 a.m. on weekends and 2 a.m. on weekdays.

And in Tribeca, Community Board 1 killed Matthew Piacentini’s plans to open a lounge in a commercial building on Hudson Street by telling him he’d have to close at midnight on weekdays and 1 a.m. on weekends. The early closing times are a big problem for bar owners; a recent survey found that 58% of their revenues are earned between those magical hours of 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. These are also the hours when some of us lose 58% of our dignity, so maybe it's all for the best?

http://www2.nysun.com/article/74836

4 A.M. Last Calls Could Be Headed The Way of Smoky Bars

By CHRISTOPHER FAHERTY

Staff Reporter of the Sun

April 17, 2008

City nightlife industry insiders fear that the days of 4 a.m. last calls are numbered.

In most parts of Manhattan, bar and club owners say, it has become nearly impossible to open new nightlife establishments that are permitted to serve alcohol until 4 a.m. — the Prohibition-era curfew that is seen as a bedrock of New York City's party town identity.

Community boards that now hold substantial clout with the New York State Liquor Authority are increasingly requesting that liquor licenses be tied to earlier closing times, often at or before 2 a.m., a number of advocates for the nightlife industry said.

"It is a trend that has certainly increased in the last six months, and if it keeps increasing there are going to be serious problems for the nightlife industry and the city's economy," a lawyer for the New York Nightlife Association, Robert Bookman, said. An independent study conducted at the request of his association found that city nightlife establishments garner 58% of their revenues between the hours of 1 a.m. and 4 a.m., he said. Under state law, which says the closing time for bars in the city is 4 a.m., the liquor authority lacks the power to place stipulations on the operating hours of bars and clubs. However, if a bar owner agrees to limit its hours of operation with the local community board, the liquor authority will write it into the license.

Community boards for years have provided the liquor authority with recommendations for liquor licenses, but only recently has their influence become a determining factor in designating them. "The new leadership that took over during the last few years of the Pataki administration has been dramatically more responsive to the community than any I've ever seen with many years of experience with the SLA, and I think that's a good thing," a state assemblyman who represents the Chelsea area of Manhattan, Richard Gottfried, said.

A spokesman for the liquor authority, William Crowley, said the agency determines liquor licenses on a case-by-case basis and follows the letter of the law.

[housejunkie81]

This is brought up every year, wont happen

[AndyBrown]

It will happen and worse than that i wouldnt be suprised if bloomberg makes all bars close at 2 just to shut them down all because they cause slight amounts of crime in his virtually crime free manhattan. At best no new places will open up they wont be able to compete with the existing places that stay open till 4. Its only a matter of time before licenses come up for renewal and wont be granted for 4am closing and a result that establishment will close. People wont risk their money opening new places under these conditions.

[AndyBrown]

If it does happen if will be the deathblow to both nyc nightlife and many of the main employing industries in the city. People might be tempted to leave their jobs particulary if they dont get out till 1am in the morning. They wont get the chance to partake in nightlife, what are they going to do simply not go out or ask to a transfer where the closing time is 2 and the office hours end at 8. Its also unlikely that new venues will open up with 2am closing on the license they cant compete with the venues open till 4am.

[ckord]

I've noticed recently at a few lounges and bars in manhatten that they close around 2:30-3. I was really surprised, but just thought it was those particular places. This is gonna suckkkkk if this happens to all of them. I don't even like leaving my house till around 12-1. Get Bloomberg out of NYC! I seriously cannot stand that man.