Oct. 19, 2015 By Michael Florio
Community board 3 rejected the renewal of a Northern Blvd. restaurant’s liquor license last week claiming that the establishment is too noisy.
Dela Mora, a restaurant/bar located at 84-19 Northern Blvd, has been in business for three years and has had a liquor license for the past two years, according to owner Arturo Centurion.
However, the board was notified of several on-going 311 complaints from three nearby residents claiming that the music was too loud.
Centurion, in response, said that he would take measures to sound proof the establishment, such as installing a soundproof entrance and thicker glass in the front windows.
“These measures should reduce noise,” he told the board. “We will also do a sound check with the police.”
The board’s Business/Economic Development committee, which handles liquor license applications, recommended that the full board deny the application.
Committee Co-Chairman Edmund Rosenbaum made the recommendation after receiving on-going noise complaints over the course of months, all from the same three neighbors.
There was also confusion on what action was taken by the police when responding to 311 calls of the noise complaint.
Rosenbaum said the police did respond to the location for noise complaints. However, numerous board members still had questions if any further action, such as citations, had been taken.
The board ultimately voted to deny the renewal of the liquor license, but it was far from a unanimous decision. Of the 29 board members who voted, seven voted against that decision and four abstained.
Centurion was upset by the decision.
He told the Jackson Heights Post that his application should not have been denied based on the complaints of three unknown people.
“You have to know who these people are and why they are complaining,” he said.
He also said the police have stopped by his restaurant “maybe three times in the past two years.”
“The cops stop by and say the music is not too loud and say they are only stopping by due to the complaints they received,” Centurion said.
The establishment has security staff, he added.
Centurion is still hopeful the State Liquor Authority (SLA) will renew his liquor license, since the community board’s opinion is advisory.
“While the SLA places substantial weight on the recommendations received from Community Boards, unless there is good cause shown, the SLA cannot deny the renewal of a license,” an SLA spokesman said.
However, Centurion said he’d feel much more confident if the community board approved his application.
“Whether or not a license denied by the Community Board would be approved must be decided on a case by case basis, as there is well settled case law in New York that the SLA is obligated to look at each application, whether it is a new license or a renewal, individually,” he added.
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2 Comments
The article specifically states that the restaurant was not closed. The police did stop by and saw that there was no violation. Just because someone complained does not mean its true. When calling 311 you can stay unanimous. This could be a rival business owner or just some old grumpy guy how complains about everything. A small business cannot survive without having the large liquor margin.
You know it doesn’t mean diddly that the cops have only stopped by a couple of times. Noise complaints are the lowest priority. Cops get there when they can get there. If the restaurant is closed, they move on to the next thing.