R’wood Bar Owners Make Case To CB 5
After Community Board 5 rejected a liquor license for proposed Ridgewood seasonal bar last month, the business’ management publicly appealed the decision during the board’s meeting last Wednesday, Oct. 8, at Middle Village’s Christ the King Regional High School.
Justin Carter, Eamon Harkin and Mark Connell outlined their plans to open The Back Yard at 56-06 Cooper Ave.-a vacant, former factory in the South of Myrtle Avenue Industrial Business Zone (SOMA IBZ)-as “a gathering place for friends and families … in the warmer months.”
During its September meeting, as previously reported, Board 5 recommended asking the State Liquor Authority to deny issuing a liquor license to the establishment under Carter’s name since, according to the application, the facility would have a capacity of 600 or more patrons featuring live and recorded music and small-scale dancing.
Carter told the board last Wednesday he and his partners in the venture want to be “totally transparent” about the matter, offering board members an information packet explaining The Back Yard’s operations.
According to Carter, the seasonal bar would be similar to ones he, Connell and Harkin operate at two other Brooklyn locations. While the Cooper Avenue location has a proposed maximum capacity of 999 persons, he anticipated the bar wouldn’t operate near that number on most days.
“We expect our average attendance on weekdays to be around 100, and we expect the weekend attendance to be around 300,” according to the information packet.
Sundays would be the most active day for the bar, Carter said, as it will hold “Mister Sunday” music and dance events similar to those held at their Brooklyn locations. The program would take place generally from 3 to 9 p.m. and Carter anticipates the facility will approach capacity during those hours.
“There will be absolutely no amplified music” on site, he noted, “except on Sundays.”
Carter insisted that similar events held at their Brooklyn locations presented few problems to both local police and the nearby communities, and he anticipated the results wouldn’t be different at the Ridgewood location.
To that end, the information packet he and his partners provided board members included reference letters from Jeffrey Laufer, district manager of Brooklyn Community Board 7, which recommended a liquor license for Mister Sunday’s outdoor bar and event space on Second Avenue and 36th Street in Industry City. Letters from local residents supporting The Back Yard’s application were also included.
Organizers anticipate most patrons would head to and from the bar via public transportation; the Halsey Street and Wilson Avenue stops on the L line are just over a quarter-mile away from the location. Private security officers will also be on site.
Board 5 Chairperson Vincent Arcuri said “it’s obvious we have to continue the dialogue” with Carter and others involved in the project. He referred the matter to the board’s Land Use Committee for further examination.
Even so, Board 5 member Jean Tanler-who is also with the Maspeth Industrial Business Association-cautioned that reusing the industrial site for a commercial venture such as a bar would further deprive Ridgewood of business space.
“We are experiencing a shortage of industrial space in New York City,” she said. “A lot of property owners will just sit on the property and just wait for zoning changes and variances” permitting other, more profitable uses.
Budget priorities
Board members unanimously approved their capital and expense budget wish lists for the city’s 2016 fiscal year, which all community boards are required to provide to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) by Oct. 31.
Speaking first about the capital budget, Board 5 District Manager Gary Giordano stated the top item on the list remains the ongoing reconstruction and redesign of the sewer system in Board 5’s confines. Progress, he noted, is being made in the form of sewer upgrades set to start soon on Calamus Avenue and 69th Street, on the Maspeth/Woodside border, and along Penelope Avenue and 74th Street in Middle Village.
Other top capital budget priorities for the board include the reconstruction of the bridge carrying Metropolitan Avenue and Fresh Pond Road over the LIRR Montauk branch; making capital improvements to boost safety at the intersections of Grand Avenue, 69th Street and Borden Avenue in Maspeth; construct new school space where needed; evaluate and repair the elevated M line in Ridgewood; rehabilitate the Glendale library; reconstruct south Middle Village streets; rehabilitate the Ridgewood Reservoir and portions of Highland Park; and provide new street tree plantings.
Giordano also summarized some of the top priorities in the expense budget list, including elderly services; building inspections; child protection services; fire and police services; parks maintenance; refuse collection; and youth services.
Child support
John Cnapich of the city’s Office of Child Support Enforcement offered a presentation on the agency’s efforts to hold divorced or separated parents responsible for taking care of their children.
The office actively investigates cases in which a noncustodial parent fails to provide timely child support payments as required. More than 400,000 child support cases currently exist in the five boroughs, though Cnapich conceded it’s a topic many people would rather avoid.
Delinquent parents who avoid their responsibilities could have their wages garnished, driver’s license suspended, tax refunds intercepted or even have liens placed on their bank accounts or real property, he noted.
The office also provides discounted DNA testing to help parents determine if they are the biological parents of their children, Cnapich added.
For more information, visit www.nyc.gov/html/hra/html/serv ices/child.shtml.
Other news
Street resurfacing is finally underway around Board 5’s confines, Giordano told members. Department of Transportation crews have begun work in Maspeth and Middle Village.
The board unanimously recommended approval of a Board of Standards and Appeals application to extend a 10-year operating variance for the Shell gas station at 60-04 Metropolitan Ave. in Ridgewood. According to Land Use Committee Chairperson Walter Sanchez, no complaints or objections were lodged against the business.
Regarding the proposed Glendale homeless shelter, Sanchez noted the committee is consulting with an architect to determine alternative uses for the site. A committee recommendation may be presented to the full board at its November meeting.
With the city’s Parks Department abandoning its plan to breach the Ridgewood Reservoir’s walls, Parks Committee Chairperson Steve Fiedler reported the agency now plans to spend the money for that endeavor on improving ball fields and other facilities in nearby Highland Park. The improvements include new handball courts and a renovated playground near Cypress Hills.
Liquor licenses
Arcuri announced the board received a new liquor license application for Kathleen Hanrahan Pyle or an entity to be formed, d.b.a. O’Neill’s Restaurant, located at 64-15/23 53rd Dr. in Maspeth. It also received liquor license application renewals for Krolewskie Jadlow of Ridgewood Inc., d.b.a. Krowleskie Jadlow, located at 66- 21 Fresh Pond Rd. in Ridgewood, and O’Reilly’s Daughters Inc., d.b.a. Yerman’s Irish Pub, located at 70-26 88th St. in Glendale.
Ogle Front Hall Inc., located at 1616 George St. in Ridgewood, also submitted a catering establishment license renewal.
Those who wish to comment on any of the applicants may do so by calling Board 5 at the number listed at the end of this article.
The next Community Board 5 meeting is scheduled to take place on Wednesday night, Nov. 12, at 7:30 p.m. at Christ the King Regional High School, located at 68-02 Metropolitan Ave. For more information, call 1-718-366-1834.
