Death & Co. Denied Liquor License Support by Community Board 3

Well, folks, our beloved Death & Co. may have a problem. At a meeting of Community Board 3 last night, CB3 passed a resolution to deny the renewal of Death & Co.'s liquor license, 26-7 in favor of said resolution, with four abstentions. The resolution, potentially crushing if the SLA concurs with the community board's analysis, is as follows:

Vote: To deny the renewal of the full on-premise liquor license for Death & Co., 433 East 6th Street, because

1) there have been persistent resident complaints regarding noise, beginning while this establishment was under construction and now extending into its operation,

2) there has been improper garbage disposal from this establishment resulting in spillage on the street and commercial garbage left in residential bins,

3) the licensee has failed to make adequate plans for crowd control and noise,

4) the method of operation is inconsistent with the licensee's original alteratino application in that it is apparently now operating as a prohibition-style lounge with incidental food service while it averred that it would be serving small plates as a restaurant and,

5) this establishment appears to be within 500 feet of eleven (11) full on-premise licensed establishments. Consequently, the renewal of this license is not in the public interest.

And now, from our Community Board correspondent, one Jake Albertson, the full rundown of the undoing of Death & Co.

The CB heard five speakers on each side of the debate. Three of the Death & Co.'s owners spoke. Their main points were:

—reinforcing their claims that D&C is truly a restaurant (40% of its revenue comes from food, portions are larger than FDA required)
—citing public support in the form of 167 signatures, and letters from the building's tenants, the chef, and the executive director
—accusing opponents of harassment and "smoke and mirrors" techniques
—asserting that they are 202' 6" from the nearby synagogue, as deemed by two independent architects
—asserting their own Jewishness in response to accusations of Naziism.

Two additional advocates for D&C asserted that:

—they had had "more plates of food than glasses of alcohol" at D&C
—the music at D&C is always jazz, with Ella Fitzgerald being the most contemporary musician played there
—they have added so much padding to the door that it is impossible to lock at night
—puking patrons are more likely from Cherry Tree, down the block.

Against D&C, the speakers included Jacob Sal, owner of 431 E. 6th St., Joe Hurley, the musician neighbor who has been in the a href="http://www.thevillager.com/villager_199/death&coisfrightening.html">thick of this battle, and a representative from the nearby synagogue, Anshe Meseritz. They made comments asserting that:

—D&C is a bar, not a restaurant
—patrons smoke and vomit outside D&C
—D&C owners haven't taken down an objectionable black flag, as they promised
—the sign outside D&C urging patrons to respect the neighbors is black-on-black and poorly lit, and therefore illegible
—D&C is not soundproof, and the door makes a lot of noise
—it is only 133 feet from the synagogue
—D&C's owners have threatened and harassed opponents, Hurley in particular.

The upshot of all of this is that the neighborhood just doesn't want Death & Co. around, and they intend to make an example of the lounge. This will ultimately be in the hands of the SLA, but claims of menacing patrons and the problem of potentially being too close to a synagogue are going to be hard to get around. We're going to keep following this one for you, but know that the clock is ticking of Death & Co., and you might not want to wait too long to plan that return visit.
· Death & Co. is frightening some neighbors on Sixth Street [Villager]
· Eater Inside: Death & Co. [~E~]