CB1: Venting on Bars; Move to Ban Concert Series

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At last night’s CB1 meeting, there was a lot of discussion about what some community board members see as an over-saturation of bars and restaurants in Williamsburg and Greenpoint, with a surprise motion at the end of the meeting to ban the waterfront concert series at East River State Park, according to Brooklyn 11211. At the beginning of the meeting, a resident expressed concern specifically about the noise level at Alma Lounge on Roebling, saying “Once a company has a liquor license, their message to the community in a lot of cases is pretty much a middle finger.” Later, CB1 Chair Christopher Olechowski spoke more generally about the proposed moratorium on all new liquor licenses going forward. “This is not about a specific bar or complaint,” he said. “It’s a question of how much this community can stand.” In 2010, 138 new liquor license applications were approved in the neighborhood, with another 54 in 2011. Although some of those application weren’t green-lighted by CB1, the State Liquor Authority OK’d all of them. CB1’s executive board wants to request that the SLA join in this moratorium, which will be discussed further at next month’s board meeting. The big news, however, happened after we left, during the public session. Brooklyn 11211 reports that a number of residents complained about the noise and traffic the East River State Park concerts cause during the summer. So, “the Community Board voted (unanimously) to ban the waterfront concert series from East River State Park.” Since the board is advisory, we’re not clear on whether this means the concerts won’t happen. But last night there was definitely a shift to be seen in how CB1 is dealing with North Brooklyn’s social scene.
Williamsburg Bans Music [Brooklyn 11211]
Liquor License Crackdown in Williamsburg? [Brownstoner]

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