A local community board wants to shut the tap on more bars in the Fordham area.
According to the New York Daily News, Bronx Community Board 6, which covers the areas of Fordham, East Tremont and Belmont, wants to convince the State Liquor Authority to review the overpopulation of bars in the area. The community board's intent is to have the State Liquor Authority issue a moratorium on new liquor licenses in the neighborhood.
Community Board 6 did not return requests for comment from The Ram by the time of publication.
The community board is not concerned with new restaurants serving beer and wine in the area, according to the Daily News. Rather, they are only focused on "hardcore" bars that in many cases cater to underage drinkers. A team consisting of Community Board 6, the State Liquor Authority and NYPD officers recently went on a 1:00 a.m. raid through the Fordham and Belmont neighborhoods and found scores of underage drinkers attending such bars.
In the article, William Crowley, a State Liquor Authority spokesman, said that moratoriums cannot be given out on the basis of over-saturation but that he would be pleased to look at each case individually. There is currently a law that states that bars within 500 feet of three or more bars must prove that their business is for "public interest."
However, there are groups that feel differently about the nightlife in the New York City neighborhoods. The New York Nightlife Association, which is a part of the New York State Restaurant Association, has opposed bids in lower Manhattan that are similar to those that Community Board 6 is putting forth.
"If an operator is not qualified or has a bad record, then fine, I agree, there should be a prohibition," Chuck Hunt, executive vice president of the Restaurant Association, said in the article. "But it's really unreasonable for them to say no matter who files an application, they don't want anyone else."
The State Liquor Authority, however, does do criminal background checks on all establishments serving alcohol.
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