CB2 votes on dozens of SLA recommendations; 302 Bowery license and outdoor‑seating concerns raised
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Summary
The board's SLA committees reported decisions on numerous liquor‑license applications (several 'deny unless' recommendations) and discussed community concerns about 302 Bowery's rear‑yard deck and balcony drawings; the board approved committee recommendations and corrected one prior resolution via roll‑call vote.
Manhattan Community Board 2 reviewed and voted on a slate of State Liquor Authority (SLA) recommendations and supplementary committee business at its December full board meeting, approving the SLA committees’ recommended actions and addressing a neighborhood concern tied to a 302 Bowery application.
SLA committee chairs reported 18 applications in one committee and 17 in a second, with a mix of unanimous decisions, denials and 'deny unless' recommendations for new on‑premise and transfer licenses. Several national or chain applicants (including multiple Chipotle locations listed in committee materials) were recommended for denial unless conditions are met; other neighborhood restaurants and hotels were included in the set of recommendations. The committees also carried layovers and withdrawals where applicants failed to appear or deferred.
Community concern about 302 Bowery resurfaced during public comment and committee discussion. A tenant representative told the board that drawings filed with the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) showed a rear deck that was not included in the SLA application, raising fears of late‑night congregation and smoke in an interior courtyard. Committee representatives noted that the liquor‑license stipulation for Hyper Interactive Games (302 Bowery) includes explicit language that the operator will not use any outdoor area for commercial purposes and agreed that if outdoor uses appear later they would violate the stipulation.
Donna Raftery (SLA committee) said committee stipulations require that doors remain closed and no outdoor seating or sidewalk/roadway café activity occur; she noted that building renovations filed with DOB are not something the SLA committee controls. When the committee’s recommended action on item 8 (Hyper Interactive Games, 302 Bowery) was called, the board voted to adopt the committee’s recommendation (the chair noted the item passed with recusal counts reported on the record).
The board also addressed an administrative correction: a previously adopted SLA resolution described a license as a tavern license when the intended classification was an on‑premise license for a theater use at 432–434 Lafayette Street; the correction was approved by roll‑call (individual board members’ 'yes' votes were read aloud by the secretary).
What’s next: The committee recommendations and stipulations will be transmitted to the SLA; community members and the board will monitor any building permits (DOB/LPC) that suggest unpermitted outdoor commercial use and flag violations of liquor‑license stipulations where appropriate.