The Un-Drying of NYC: Bouley's Brush Stroke Victorious!

In a striking turn of events, Bouley got the green light from the full CB1 board for his three floor Japanese venture, Brush Stroke. The full board voted against their subcommittee's suggestion to reject his license, giving him the go-ahead to apply to the State Liquor Authority with community support. Perhaps his PR stunt yesterday worked. This is a huge victory for Bouley but keep in mind he still has a battle ahead of him at the SLA because of the Padavan Law, or the 500 foot rule, which Brush Stroke would be violating. But let's get to the full, juicy report on the show that was last night's meeting from our community board correspondent:

"The full board voted no on the opposition to granting the license. The numbers were not announced, but it was a landslide. Two resolutions were attached requiring that illegal parking, traffic, and sidewalk cleanliness issues are addressed.

About 10 'character witnesses' spoke during the public session in favor of Bouley (which one board member later pointed out were all recipients of food or donations from Bouley). He wasn't there (as you know) but had the letter he sent to the board members read. Also, a 31 page packet of 'Letters of Support' and his 'Charitable Contributions' was distributed, including letters from Drew and Tracy Nieporent, Ron Silver (president of Bubby's Pie Co, Inc), Susan and Steven Johnson (owners of Blue Bench), Michael Dorf (founder of the Knitting Factory), and Libby Turner (former Assistant Director of the Red Cross Disaster Relief Operation for 9/11 New York City)...

During the board discussion, a concern for how Bouley got all their email addresses was mentioned twice, and the 9/11 charges were mentioned, but not much else was said. One member said that the license opposition has 'been on all the blogs' and was making Tribeca look bad, like a place where no one would want to come and do business."

So there you have it. License Approved. Just goes to show what a little PR, a lot of money, and some high priced lawyers can do in the face of vocal community opposition. On to the SLA.
—Reporting by Adam Haas

· The Drying of NYC: Bouley Lobbying the Community Board [~E~]
· Bouley's Booze Hopes Hit Another Stumbling Block [~E~]

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