Death & Co. Puts Liquor-License 'McCarthyism' On Trial
David Kaplan, owner of embattled East Village cocktail cathedral Death & Co., is suing the State Liquor Authority (S.L.A.) over its refusal to renew his liquor license.
Mr. Kaplan had formally requested a reconsideration of that potentially business-killing decision this past February—a request the S.L.A. has since denied.
In court papers, Mr. Kaplan and his attorney have argued that the proprietors “never defrauded nor made misrepresentations” to the S.L.A.—despite what some critics in the neighborhood have alleged.
The S.L.A. denied Mr. Kaplan’s renewal last December because “the method of operation and hours of operation currently in effect … are in contradiction with the method of operation and hours of operation originally filed with and approved by” state regulators.
The controversial nightspot has been closing at midnight ever since in the hopes of appeasing the liquor board. Mr. Kaplan also paid a $10,000 fine and closed down for a full seven days in order to settle the matter with the S.L.A.
“The Authority then uses these same pleadings, which were resolved by the settlement offer and accepted by the Authority, as a basis for the non-renewal,” according to the lawsuit, which asks the court to annul the S.L.A.’s ruling as "arbitrary and capricious."
THIS IS ROUTINE FOR THE SLA. FINE YOU AND THEN TAKE YOUR LICENSE ITS ABOUT TIME SOMEONE TOOK THEM TO COURT
THIS IS ROUTINE FOR THE SLA. GET THIER FINE MONEY AND THEN TAKE YOUR LICENSE. ITS ABOUT TIME SOMEONE TOOK THEM TO COURT YOU WILL WIN THEN SUE THEM FOR LOST BUSINESS
www.nysliquor.com has information on the NYS Liquor Authority you will not find anywhere else
Love what the SLA did to Death & Co.
Finally the residents are starting to get some
say against the troublemaking bars who don't
control their noisy patrons.
It looks like some government might be starting
to work. This is a start. We'll see what the SLA
does next.
You have no idea what you're talking about. Have you ever been to this establishment? It serves the highest quality cocktails in the city, and has a very professional and knowledgeable staff. It is shocking to me that there is any problem with the community. There have been late-night bars in this space for years, so the "residents" (I lived three blocks away for three years in the late '90s) can cry me a river. This specific establishment employs a very serious doorman who keeps the door shut and the noise down, and will not let the typical frat-boy, bridge-and-tunnel, shot-drinking jerks enter or even linger on the sidewalk. This is a bar that any block should be proud to have as a neighbor. NY SLA and Community Boards are way beyond their senses when it comes to what, where and when they permit licensing in this town. If you don't like bars, clubs and restaurants, please do us all a favor and move to the suburbs.
Mixed use buildings! You live above a bar in New York City. There is going be noise. This not Connecticut. Get over it or leave. I'll live there.