Shortly after Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed into law tougher regulations for city bars and clubs, City Councilmember Melinda Katz and Assemblymember Audrey Pheffer are calling for the creation of a City Liquor Authority (CLA).
The proposal, which would require legislation on both the state and city level, would create a new agency in charge of regulating the city nightlife scene in the wake of multiple recent tragedies including the death of a John Jay College graduate school student in Manhattan and a Queens teenager killed outside an Astoria club.
Pheffer has been advocating for this type of legislation for nearly seven years, saying that the State Liquor Authority (SLA) has not done an adequate job enforcing the laws.
Under the proposal, the CLA would issue all liquor licenses in the City and have the authority to suspend or take away any of those licenses. In addition, the proposal would give local community board more power in reviewing applications.
“Once the organization is authorized by the state, it will be up to the New York City government to work out the details with regards to the authorities of specific agencies, Community Boards, the issuing of fines and other issues which may arise,” according to a joint statement issues by Katz and Pheffer.
Although Pheffer said that any new legislation would not be easy to pass, she remained hopeful.
Pols call for City Liquor Agency
By Pete Davis
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