update on Buster’s at 25 N. Moore / farts + frats in Tribeca bar war

Community Board subcommittee rescinds an OK; full CB1 + SLA to follow?
The quick and dirty history on this is that the State Liquor Authority had a hearing last week on the license application, following a vote by Community Board 1 of “no objection” to the application in late December. It seems that some Tribeca folks (including some on the Community Board??) felt that the original license application omitted critical facts and was railroaded through.

So some nearby residents were alarmed (and pissed off) and – per an email I got from someone who attended last night’s meeting — got the Community Board’s Tribeca Subcommittee to reconsider (and revoke) the decision last night.

That decision will be considered by the full Community Board 1 next Tuesday and the SLA has extended until the following day the comment period for its consideration of the application; opponents are hopeful that the full CB1 will rescind its “no objection” resolution next Wednesday and that the SLA will follow the community’s lead on this.

when is too much too much?
The legal issue (as I understand it) is deceptively simple: since there are already more than 3 SLA licensees within 500 feet of 25 North Moore, is it “in the public interest” to approve the new application for a waiver?

the political issue is rather more complicated
The Buster’s people have burned many, many bridges in Tribeca, having giving up on an attempt to open at 18 Leonard last year in the face of vociferous opposition. But there is even more history than that, as the Trib-Trib said “[owner] Provenzano’s people came before CB1 [recently] seeking liquor licenses for a succession of other new establishments, including 90 John St., 375 Broadway and 85 South St. All fell by the wayside, because of either landlord difficulties or opposition from CB1.”

Now some Tribeca neighbors feel the “family restaurant” application was a subterfuge (seeking to be open until 4 AM, using renderings far more tilted to bar stools than 4-tops, being ‘unable’ to say how many TV screens there’d be) for some kind of horrible blight on a neighborhood that – generally speaking – has a huge number of bars and restaurants without much trouble from them.

too many to count?
Walker’s is opposite; Bubble Lounge, Tribeca Tavern, Cercle Rouge, Centrico, Nancy Whiskey are just to the east; Devin Tavern, Ivy’s Bistro, Smith & Mills and The Sporting Club are to the west – all probably within 500 feet. (Even Puffy’s is probably within 500 feet, along with others.)

No doubt, this guy touches a nerve. No doubt, some people look at the neighborly opposition as some kind of Revenge of the Old Farts. No doubt, so far the opposition is winning.

whose public interest?
The requirement that the SLA determine what is in the public interest if there are already 3 licensees within 500 feet means they have to consider this standard in many, many Manhattan loft neighborhoods. (Although Tribeca may be the most concentrated with bars; the Lower East Side not being a “loft neighborhood” to me.)

I have no idea what the legal standards are for determining the public interest on a 3+-within-500 waiver application, but I am sure the SLA has to pay attention if the residents come out with pitchforks and torches.

Are there going to be more frat boy cars out in front of a new Buster’s than Wall St black cars in front of Nobu? Are there going to be more drunks falling out of this place than (pick a place that serves a lot of booze)?? If there are already 10, 12, 15 (whatever) in this micro-nabe, is one more a significant drop in that bucket???

Buster’s has definitely left a legacy, one that is difficult to appreciate if you did not (literally) live through the Buster’s wars, as this is a micro-nabe that clearly loves bars. Nonetheless: