April 17, 2008
2 a.m. Closing Time Becoming Norm for Manhattan Bars
When Hog Pit co-owner Felisa Dell sent an email to Eater on April 7th confirming the closure of her Meatpacking District BBQ joint, she insinuated that “the mayor and the State Liquor Authority are now only issuing Liquor Licenses until 2 a.m. It's very sneaky, but in 5 years the 4 a.m. liquor license will be a thing of the past, without any community input.” Today the NY Sun backs Dell up, reporting that many Manhattan bar owners are finding it “nearly impossible to open new nightlife establishments that are permitted to serve alcohol until 4 a.m.”
While the New York State Liquor Authority can’t arbitrarily impose a specific closing time before 4 a.m., Community Boards have been demanding bar owners agree to curfews before they recommend approval to the SLA. The Sun looked at the most recent records available from Community Board 3, which covers the East Village and the Lower East Side, and found that not a single liquor license recommendation was granted to a bar that would close after 3 a.m. on weekends and 2 a.m. on weekdays.
And in Tribeca, Community Board 1 killed Matthew Piacentini’s plans to open a lounge in a commercial building on Hudson Street by telling him he’d have to close at midnight on weekdays and 1 a.m. on weekends. The early closing times are a big problem for bar owners; a recent survey found that 58% of their revenues are earned between those magical hours of 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. These are also the hours when some of us lose 58% of our dignity, so maybe it's all for the best?
Photo: digiart2001
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madonna was right, this city is not as cool as it used to be.
they don't want drunken bastards screaming at 4 in the morning in their neighborhoods? why not?
it's jersey's influence. perhaps if folks from hoboken would stay there then we wouldn't have to deal with ordinances!
"they don't want drunken bastards screaming at 4 in the morning in their neighborhoods? why not?"
No, they'd rather have normal, sober New Yorkers screaming at 6 in the morning in their neighborhoods.
What about the clubs that don't open until 4am?
It'll wake the kids.
Little Ellsbury and Carpathia have to sleep soundly to get to their posh preschool in the morning so that they can get into Harvard in 12 years.
I'm so glad I was able to party my butt off in this city several years ago when it was still a 24 hour town.
Party's over..town's whack.
Of course this only has to do with
"New Establishments"
I am quite confident that Grassroots Blue and Gold doc holidays and other staples will be drinking till 4 am for quite some time
interesting piece though
reminds me of the Cabaret license development back in the Guliani Years
In 1960 there were over 2000 cabaret licenses in nyc - by 2000 there were around 100
messed up right?
Can we just wall off 27th street and let them all rape and kill each other and everyone else gets back to their responsible drinking.
Hell, none of them are NYers anyway.
Why are you taking my functional alcoholism away? My greatest crime is playing Gordon Lightfoot at 3:45 A.M.. Or, ya know, anytime.
NY is DEAD.
thanks implants.
you killed my city
thats funny mfib
perspective is everything i guess
I personally try to never go above 14th st.
Fear of brainwashing and yuppie scum
I'm disappointed in this city, the greatest mother a kid could have.
Yet another nail in this town's coffin.
Fine... yet another reason never to set foot in Manhattan except to go to work.
Having worked in CT for 4 years and attempting to have a life after 8:00pm, (READ: Drinking) it made me appreciate NY even more since I left. Now that I'm back in NYC, it's scary to see that they're making a run at being Anytown Connecticut. I won't truly give up on NYC till they start (or stop) selling alcohol after 9:00pm or Sundays. Oh, one more thing, isn't prohibition over?
Plenty of yuppie scum below 14th st. Bottle service and transplants have ruined the night life. House parties are the new vip sections.
While almost all my "mis-steps" happened because of the drinks I got from 2-4am I have no regrets. NYC should be a place you can get a drink 24/7.
What happened to the city that doesn't sleep?
Does this make the NYC in Vegas more like NYC than NYC?
They used to kick you out for an hour on Sundays and let you resume drinking at 5 A.M.
This town has grown a big saggy, middle aged suburban housewife vagina. Seriously, you're no longer automatically 'cool' if you live here.
Period.
Most bars I went to last summer just closed their doors and let people party until they felt like kicking people out.
When I moved here 3 years ago I came with the mindset that NYC was really cool and I wasn't. I guess I brought the lame with me cause its gotten lamer and lamer every year. I'm gonna move back to North Carolina since that's where all the New Yorkers went.
GOOD! There is no reason why all you drunks need to continue drinking until 4AM. If you haven't got laid by 2AM then go home instead of drowning your sorrows.
Plus I fuckin hate going out at 11PM.
thanks implants.
you killed my city
I think you should go to a Community Board meeting sometime to see just who it is that is that is against 4 AM closing times in their neighborhoods. It certainly isn't 23 year olds fresh off the bus from Ohio. In most cases it is long time New Yorkers that resent anyone from the outside coming into their neighborhood. They're killing the nightlife out of spite or in the naive hope that the young noisemakers will go somewhere else.
i blame it all on commercial hip hop and trucker hats.
Thanks mid-westerners. You've succeeded. You and your stupid Sex and the City/Felcity/Friends aspirations have RUINED this city. You wanted to be in NYC, but as soon as you get here you want it to be the same as Akron or some other shit midwestern city. Applebees/Cheesesteak Factory/Chilis all those shit places popped up and ruined any sort of authenticity here.
Congratulations! Manhattan is now the same as some shitty town in Ohio/Iowa/Illinois/whatever fucking shit state in the middle of this country.
What is this, LA? This and the Trump Soho are harbinges - get out while you can!
sorry - mean harbingers...
i can't type.
Hey Papercutninja, it's your fucking attitude that makes this city unbearable.
Sweet. There's that New York attitude I was looking for. Bitch, moan, bitch, moan.
why? because it's true.
this is all to appease the bitter, gun clinging masses. Oh noe, look a black person!
let's hide in this Ruby Tuesday's till he's out of sight! hey, while we're here let's order a bloomin onion.
i agree with Eastriver (#25). he pretty much hit the nail on the head.
these community board meetings tend to be filled with lots of old school NY'ers who are just sick and tired of being priced out of their neighborhoods. a lot of these folks can't move since they're locked into rent stabilized apartments, so they're hoping that actions like these will drive out the young, monied types that they loathe.
unfortunately, it's not going to work.
also, i believe community boards also take into account 411 noise complaints. obviously you just need one or two crotchety old neighbors who incessantly call to ruin a good time.
Guess it's no longer the "City that Never Sleeps."
This town has become so retro trendy whathaveyou that now its cool to have a 2am closing times at bars. That don't make nooo sense. Why don't we bring back 3.2 beer as well. Maybe cuff my acid washed jeans and wear 3 swatches on 1 arm. Everything lame is cool again. God help us.
Ride a tiger
Can we have a community meeting to give Puerto Rico back to the Puerto Ricans too?
hahahahahaha - oh whats becoming of "NYC"
I guarantee every trendsetter, every artist, every character in this city that took the road less traveled and made this city THE city to come experience, whether for a visit or for those brave enough to try and conquer it - had their most inspiring times after the hours of 2am - and with a drink close by.
Yup it sure is. No go the fuck back to (insert shitty midwestern town here). Go fuck yourself.
why? because it's true.
this is all to appease the bitter, gun clinging masses. Oh noe, look a black person!
let's hide in this Ruby Tuesday's till he's out of sight! hey, while we're here let's order a bloomin onion.
What are you talking about?
It's the SLA's own fault. They created the problem with poor management of awarding liquor licenses over the past ten years. New Yorkers should not pay for their mistakes. Then there are the groups that lobby for quiet communities that want more restrictions and early closing times for liquor license holders.
what are you gonna do? shoot me?
yes, we will.
I agree with Papercutninja and the like... as the great (and great NYer) Norman Mailer once said, "The shits are killing us."
And yet, there is a bright side. This should create a thriving business in after-hour clubs. And that IS old-school NYC. Ah, the good ol' days... mobbed-up clubs, cops on the take...
I'm getting all misty just thinking about it.
What is this, England?
old-school nyc is living in the slums of the lower east side, 14 to a one room apartment. i wanna go back to those days.
England has gone 24hrs, a la New Orleans -- check this out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_call_(bar_term)
Mayabe that's why London is overtaking NYC as global financial capital!!!
"I want to wake up in the city that never sleeps..." -- too late now!
i'm late to the party, but i just want to make it clear. this is NOT jersey's influence. there are plenty of bars in my town that stay open and serve until 3am.
eat it kinojesi.
Its implants & old people who are sucking the life out of this city. At least most clubs still stay open until 7am.
Any Bar that closes at 2am is NOT a bar. Its a friggin kids place.
implants? they're called transplants, you fucking n00bs!
figures you blame other people. its always someone else's fault.
Its always somebody else's fault BMMDan. Damn Implant/Transplant hipster scum.
I still stammer home drunk on a regular basis when the sun starts rising. I'm doing my part.
The reason that bars should stay open until 4 AM is because the beauty industry supports the known fact that people get better looking as the hours approach 3 to 4 AM. An individual that goes out at 8 PM and drinks until 1 AM is not as "hot" as one that goes out at 11 PM and drinks until 4 AM. The statistics are out there to prove it.
Hello dignity, how nice to meet you again.
East River said it perfectly. It's the curmudgeonly old leftovers who've watched their property skyrocket.
What about free markets? We all know even 24 hour bars would do well. A bar in NY is like owning a gold mine if you're not a moron. Let's fight this! 24 hour bars and free markets! Although, it might be a good time to open an after hours spot.
holy shit. we're turning into boston.