Following a meeting of the Health, Environment and Social Services committee of Community Board 2 last Wednesday night, members voted 5-2, with 2 abstentions, against recommending a cabaret license be issued for the top floor of the One Front Street restaurant. Four residents of the community, including two current and one former member of the Board of the Fulton Ferry Landing Association, testified for denial of the license, while the President of the Fulton Ferry Business Association supported the applicant. The FFBA has members from all of the food establishments in the small Fulton Ferry neighborhood, plus the auto related businesses.
Along with the testimony given in person, the Committee reviewed emails received from other Fulton Ferry residents, plus a letter from the DUMBO Neighborhood Alliance, all of whom rejected the idea of a dance club operating until 4AM. As noted in our previous post, two events held last weekend at this location each resulted in loud guests milling about the streets in the wee hours of the morning, One resident claimed that “there has been a persistent noise problem generated by this establishment related to “dance parties”, both under the current management as well as with others over the years.” Another added that with a cabaret license, “patrons would arrive late at night, gather outside the club, make noise and deprive the local residents of the quiet enjoyment of their homes.” Several residents wrote or spoke at the hearing about how we support and patronize our local businesses, but in return we expect the proprietors to appreciate and respect the quality of life which the neighborhood values.
The vote now moves to the Executive Committee of CB2, which must make a decision by November 30th. It is also possible that instead, this will be put on the agenda for the monthly full Board meeting taking place this week. After that, the application — with recommendations from the Community Board — is sent to the Department of Consumer Affairs for a final decision. An update will be posted here after the end of November.
