By Julie Shapiro
The past came back to haunt the Duane Street Hotel last month.
Community Board 1, citing poor relations between the hotel’s developer and the community, narrowly rejected the hotel’s application for a beer and wine license May 27.
The license would serve ‘beca, a Mediterranean-inspired restaurant on the ground floor of the boutique hotel at 130 Duane St. The 40-seat restaurant has only five bar stools and plans to close by midnight seven days a week, but these assurances were not enough for community members who presented a litany of complaints at last week’s C.B. 1 meeting.
“A beer and wine license remains a privilege, not a right,” said Jean Grillo, president of the Duane St. Block Association. To approve the license would reward the developer’s “lousy community relations,” she said.
The board’s vote — which was extremely close, with 20 in favor, 19 opposed and one abstention — is only advisory. The State Liquor Authority will make the final decision within the next few months.
Before the hotel and ground-floor restaurant opened, C.B. 1 fought for years against developer Sam Chang. Community board members say Chang was unresponsive to their concerns about the building’s appearance and impact on the community.
At last month’s meeting, Neil Shah, president of Hersha Hospitality Trust, emphasized that Hersha owns the Duane Street Hotel now, not Chang, so the community should stop trying to punish the hotel for the site’s past owner’s behavior.
But Roger Byrom, chairperson of C.B. 1’s Landmarks Committee, said a change of ownership does not erase the past. For seven years, he fought with hotel developers over landmarking issues related to the building, and he found the developers worse than unhelpful.
However, several other committee members said the license should not be about history at all — it should be about whether ‘beca should serve beer and wine.
“We cannot become punitive because of something that happened with the developer,” said John Fratta, a board member.
Some residents say that the problems aren’t just in the past.
“I support a vibrant nightlife, and I support bars, but I don’t think this is the place to have one,” said Linda Pollak, resident of 132 Duane St.
Patrons of the hotel and restaurant gather and smoke outside of ‘beca, a problem Pollak said would only worsen with the granting of the beer and wine license.
Hersha’s Shah said the hotel owners have an interest in keeping the restaurant and street quiet, since the hotel’s guests want to get a good night’s sleep, just like residents.
The S.L.A. sided with the community board last fall and rejected the Duane Street Hotel’s application for a liquor license. Under the 500-foot rule, if there are already at least three bars doing business within 500 feet of a proposed bar, the owners must show that the new liquor license would be in the public’s interest. That’s where the hotel’s owners failed last time, said Bill Crowley, spokesperson for the S.L.A.
A beer and wine license is different, with less stringent requirements. The burden of proof shifts from the owner to the community and S.L.A., leaving them to show that the beer and wine license will be harmful. In general, Crowley said, “We’re going to approve the license unless there’s a good reason not to.” The S.L.A. might turn down applicants whose other establishments have frequent violations or applicants who do not have a financial stake in their enterprise.
Several members of the community turned up to speak in favor of the license, including David Cleaver, from the Tribeca Performing Arts Center, who said the hotel has volunteered to host community events. But when Cleaver wanted to plan an event with wine and cheese, he had to find another venue.
Just before the board voted against granting the license, Diane Lapson, a board member, pointed out that more than 50 residents signed a petition against the license.
“If we ignore that, what the heck are we doing here?” she said.
Julie@DowntownExpress.com
