WHEREAS, the increasing proliferation of liquor licensed establishments, to wit bars, clubs, lounges and restaurants, within Community Board 3 is apparent and well documented; and

WHEREAS, the increase in nighttime venues has resulted in persistent and numerous complaints regarding increased noise as well as increased pedestrian and vehicular traffic, and said complaints have evolved over time from complaints that were once only about specific rowdy businesses to complaints that are now about noise and congestion resulting from the sheer volume of liquor licensed establishments; and

WHEREAS, the prior moratoria imposed by Community Board 3 at the request of community residents, for 12 St. Mark’s Place, St. Mark’s Place between First Avenue and Avenue A, Sixth Street between Avenue A and Avenue B, Avenue A between Houston Street and Fourteenth Street, Ludlow Street between Houston Street and Stanton Street and Clinton Street between Houston Street and Rivington Street, had proven an inadequate means of communicating to the New York State Liquor Authority the deteriorating and deleterious conditions for residents because of licensed establishments operating within said locations; and

WHEREAS, Community Board 3 is now comprised of these and additional geographic areas where the vast number of liquor licensed establishments operating within those areas has greatly diminished the quality of life of New York State residents within Community Board 3, said areas being as follows:

1. [ 99 - 192 ] Ludlow Street between Houston Street and Delancey Street, which currently has TWENTY-ONE (21) liquor licenses;
2. [ 85 - 138 ] St. Marks Place between First Avenue and Avenue A, which currently has EIGHTEEN (18) liquor licenses;
3. 12 St. Marks Place, for which there have been persistent community complaints throughout its history as a licensed establishment;
4. [ 1 - 73 ] Clinton Street between Houston Street and Rivington Street, which currently has SEVENTEEN (17) liquor licenses;
5. [ 500 - 599 ] Sixth Street between Avenue A and Avenue B, which currently has SEVEN (7) liquor licenses, FIVE (5) of which are adjacent;
6. Avenue A between Houston Street and Fourteenth Street, which currently has FIFTY-SIX (56) liquor licenses;
7. [ 85 - 130 ] Rivington Street between Norfolk Street and Orchard Street, which currently has ELEVEN (11) liquor licenses, including one (1) hotel license which contains a lounge, a club and a 5,000 square foot restaurant, all of which is open to the public;
8. Avenue C between Houston Street and Fourteenth Street, which currently has TWENTY-THREE (23) liquor licenses;
9. [ 10 - 31 ] First Avenue between First Street and Second Street, which currently has EIGHT (8) liquor licenses and has been publicized as one of the noisiest blocks in the City;
10. [ 144 - 202 ] Orchard Street between Houston Street and Rivington Street, which currently has ELEVEN (11) liquor licenses;
11. [ 1 - 37 ] St. Mark’s Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue, which currently has TWENTY-TWO (22) liquor licenses and which has been the subject of the New York Police Department’s Model Block Initiative because of nightlife problems;
12. [ 183 - 242 ] Fourth Street between Avenue A and Avenue B, which currently has SEVEN (7) liquor licenses;
13. [ 27 - 74 ] First Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue, which currently has EIGHT (8) liquor licenses; and
14. Avenue B between Houston Street and Fourteenth Street, which currently has FORTY-TWO (42) liquor licenses; and

WHEREAS, Community Board 3 recognizes that residents from all of the aforementioned areas have continuously complained about noise from patrons on the street in front of licensed establishments, in the backyards of licensed establishments, traveling between licensed establishments and emanating from the businesses themselves, as well as from taxis and limousines dropping off and picking up people patronizing these establishments; and

THAT, the local police precincts have enlarged their cabaret and quality of life units in an effort to address the overwhelming pedestrian and vehicular noise conditions that have resulted from the licensing of so many establishments within such close proximity to each other on relatively narrow streets and avenues, and have begun to coordinate services with the Department of Transportation, Department of Sanitation, Department of Environmental Protection, Department of Buildings, the New York Fire Department, and the enforcement division of the Taxi and Limousine Commission, have asked the Department of Transportation to eliminate nighttime weekend parking on Avenue B between Houston and 4th Streets, Ludlow Street between Houston and Delancey Streets and Orchard Street between Houston and Rivington Streets, and have instituted numerous operations to control said conditions on Avenue A, Avenue B, Second Avenue, Ludlow Street and Orchard Street; and

THAT, Community Board 3 believes that prospective applicants for new licenses and upgrades of existing licenses within the aforementioned areas should have sufficient notice that their applications will be denied because of the quality of life and safety conditions that exist because of the present number of licensed establishments within said areas, and that said notice is made to prevent any prospective applicant from loss of investment of monies with respect to any given location; and

WHEREAS, while Community Board 3 believes that the aforementioned conditions are a substantial basis for the disapproval of additional liquor licenses within the stated areas, it understands that the New York State Liquor Authority requires information specific to individual applicants, as well as information about their attendant areas and quality of life concerns prevalent in those areas, in order to give serious consideration to the recommendations of this or any community board;

THEREFORE, be it resolved that Community Board 3 continues to encourage the New York State Liquor Authority to credit the personal, historic and geographic experience of Community Board 3 and its residents, when describing the detrimental effects of continuing to grant licenses within said Community Board 3 areas, as well as documented quality of life concerns or regulatory or other issues about those areas or specific locations; and

FURTHER, Community Board 3 asks that the New York State Liquor Authority deny new licenses in these areas where the existing number of operating licensed establishments within five hundred (500) feet exceeds three (3), where there is little benefit, economic or otherwise, to the public and where the increasingly deleterious effects of existing licensed nighttime businesses on the quality of life of New York State residents living within those areas, far outweighs any benefit obtained from the addition of one (1) more license; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Community Board 3 will hear in committee any new liquor license application, regardless of class, or any application for an upgrade in license class or any alteration application which would result in the physical expansion of an existing business, within any of the aforementioned areas, and consider any and application materials in order to provide supporting information for each of its recommendations; and

FURTHER, that consistent with above-described history within those areas, Community Board 3 will approve applications within said areas only where the applicant can demonstrate public benefit or substantial support from the surrounding community; and

FURTHER, should said resolution be repealed at some future date, any and all preexisting moratoria will be automatically reinstated with notice of ninety (90) days to each block association affected.