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L. I. C. Art Party Ends Up Without Liquor License

CB 2 OK Given Too Late For SLA

A group seeking a temporary liquor license for a charity event ran into a plethora of problems at Community Board 2′s Thursday, Sept. 6 meeting at Sunnyside Community Services- problems which ultimately led to the event being held without the license.

Jeffrey Aldrich of Artists Wanted tells Board 2 about his company’s plans for an art event which was held last weekend at the advisory body’s Sept. 6 meeting at Sunnyside Community Services.

According to Jeff Aldrich of Artists Wanted-one of the event’s co-sponsors, who spoke at the Thursday meeting-Swoon, a street artist known worldwide for her large-scale installations, took over a now-closed bank branch on at 26-01 Jackson Ave. and transformed it into “Pearly’s Beauty Shop,” a full-service salon with an artistic bent.

In addition to offering hairdos from a sculptor and nails done by a painter, attendees were treated to the work of artists and dance music.

Proceeds from the event went toward the renovation of an abandoned church in Braddock, Pa., a small suburb outside of Pittsburgh hard-hit by the recession that has become known for its outreach toward the art community in recent years.

According to Alrich, Artists Wanted’s director of operations, the five-year-old firm-a for-profit company that seeks to give artists a platform to show their work to the public-moved its headquarters to Long Island City in May, and expressed hope that the event would be the first of many in their new neighborhood.

“It’s a really great opportunity,” he told the crowd.

However, the controversy surrounding the event stemmed from their request for a temporary liquor license for a Saturday, Sept. 8 party.

According to Board 2 City Services Committee Chairperson Patrick O’Brien, the same site was used in the summer of 2011 for a series of events dubbed “The Palms.”

Those events, sponsored in part by local art organization Chashama and Williamsburg art group 3rd Ward, caused noise and security issues in the area, he claimed.

Board 2 contacted the State Liquor Authority (SLA) and learned that the organizers of The Palms had requested a series of temporary liquor licenses, which do not need the advisory body’s approval, last year.

After telling the state agency of the issues surrounding the site, the SLA said it would “keep an eye on that location,” O’Brien claimed.

O’Brien added that Board 2 only learned of the event, and the SLA application, on Tuesday, Sept. 4. He claimed that the company has done “virtually no outreach” to the community or local residents, quoting from the movie Cool Hand Luke about a “failure to communicate.”

O’Brien made a point of emphasizing Board 2’s supports of the local art community.

“This is not at all about not supporting the arts,” he said. “What this is about is confusion and a lack of notice and a lack of opportunity to discuss and understand exactly what’s going on.”

Alrich would admit that “this is frankly sort of new to us… we’re kind of learning as we go.”

O’Brien claimed at Board 2’s Thursday meeting that the committee would meet as soon as possible to determine whether to grant Artists Wanted their temporary license. In a Tuesday, Sept. 11 phone interview with the Times Newsweekly, he stated that while the board ultimately agreed to Artists Wanted’s request, it was a case of “too little, too late,” as the SLA was not able to receive the necessary paperwork in time to grant the license.

He added that he did not believe Artists Wanted acted maliciously in seeking the license; rather, the company was simply inexperienced with event planning.

School issues

The fate of two new schools in the Hunters Point area is currently being debated, Jeffrey Guyton and Jennifer Harper of the District 30 Community Education Council (CEC 30) informed Board 2.

According to Harper, the council is working to keep the current site of P.S. 78 (located on the bottom floors of the CityLights condo building at 48-09 Center Blvd.) as part of the district when P.S. 78 moves into a new building, P.S. 312.

In addition, they are working to keep the intermediate school grades of the I.S./H.S. 404 locally zoned, even though the city Department of Education is attempting to phase out local zoning.

Harper said that CEC 30 will propose that students from P.S. 11, which currently head to I.S. 125, will head to I.S./H.S. 404; I.S. 125 is currently severely overcrowded, and is under the jurisdiction of neighboring School District 24.

A meeting will be held on Sept. 13 at I.S. 172 to discuss these issues.

Conley suggested that the P.S. 78 space be used for lower grades.

In other school news, local resident Jim Condes again pressed Board 2 to investigate a proposed school a 57th Street and 39th Avenue in Woodside, which he claimed would be “the third elementary school within a block and a half.”

He worried that the influx of schoolchildren would “permanently change the complexion of my neighborhood.”

Other news

Guyton also spoke of a dangerous situation in the Blissville section of Long Island City, on Greenpoint Avenue near Borden Avenue and the Long Island Expressway. According to Guyton, there have been two fatal car accidents in that area in recent months involving cyclists.

Guyton asked Board 2 to advocate for delayed pedestrian lights to allow residents to “establish themselves” on the road.

“It is an extremely dangerous, blind area below grade” for drivers, he told the crowd.

“We’ve had this on our radar for years,” said Conley, who said that the board and the DOT are working on a solution.

Gina Baldwin of the Friends of the Hunters Point Library announced that a pop-up library will be set up at Gantry Plaza State Park on Saturday, Sept. 22 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The group is partnering with the Uni Project, a non-profit initiative.

In addition, the site of the new library, to be built adjacent to the park, will be dedicated on Oct. 5 at 10:30 a.m.

Land Use Committee Chairperson Lisa Deller announced that plans for a proposed new home for Queens Council of The Arts in Hunters Point have fallen through, as the foundation has chosen a different home. The site’s developer, O’Connor Capital Partners, is eyeing a different tenant for its proposed development.

Arthur Rosenfield of OurLIC.com announced that his group has just received the certification from the state to formally create the Long Island City Chamber of Commerce, the culmination of an 18- month process.

Board 2 usually meets on the first Thursday of each month at Sunnyside Community Services, located at 43-31 39th St.