I have been a chef in the city for the past 8 years, and it was time for me to have a place to develop my own ideas, so I signed a lease, hired an architect, filed with the Building Department, and registered with the Community Board 2 to present my concept and answer their questions.

Before the meeting, my lawyer advised that I be extra-nice without saying too much, and that I never contradict their statements—however wrong they may be. I did not give much thought to what he was saying; I expected an impartial and honest meeting where people from the neighborhood come to understand who you are and what you are doing, ask questions, and voice concerns, all in the name of maintaining a harmonious community.

When our turn came at the meeting, we presented a letter to the community, our menu for our pizzeria/trattoria, and my resume, and stood in front of the board members. One woman stiood to protest, yelling, "We don't want these people here!" She went on to list the troubles with other businesses in the area—businesses like bars and nightclubs. We were then accused us of planning to operate a bar, even though we had clearly presented our business as a restaurant. A few others were there to protest as well, aggressively insisting that we were planning to deceive them, that our business would be bad for the neighborhood, and that they didn't need another bar (again, we presented a restaurant, where we planned to make pizza). We were being yelled at, glared at, and treated as though we were plotting criminal acts, all before anyone had looked at the things we presented to them. They were telling the community board how we were going to run our business, and we were not given the chance to respond. It was not only humiliating, but insulting, too.

In the end, I had to give up my location and the money that had already been spent. Not only would my profit be affected by a lack of liquor sales, but the integrity of an Italian trattoria is diminished without red wine and digestifs.

Unfortunately, the Neighborhood Association and the Community Board have had trouble differentiating between a bar with low lights, late hours, and loud music and a restaurant which offers its guests drinks with their meal. Because they cannot see the distinction between the two, they have ended up with more problems than what they should have. They blame the problems on the liquor licenses, when they can only blame themselves. They are not able to provide the SLA with proper information, and in effect, respectable restaurateurs are not granted the ability to run their businesses properly. Instead of allowing beautiful establishments to develop in the neighborhood, they will end up with nothing more than Chinese takeout and dry cleaners, and they will not be able to complain.

To have a reputable chef like Daniel Boulud treated this way demonstrates the flaws in the way these meetings are run and the poor behavior of those who run them, as well as how important it is for the real community to be involved. Thank you to Mr. Boulud for standing up to embarrassing behavior and demanding your right to be a respectable restaurateur.