Many new restaurants and bars opening in and around Park Slope are bringing with them a popular dining trend: eating and drinking in their backyards, often late into the night. What can neighboring residents do about the noise that arises from those festive spaces?
Assemblymember Joan Millman has put together a bill that would ensure those outdoor spaces close by or before midnight. The Civic Council endorsed the measure at its Trustees meeting in early April, which affects cities with more than 1 million people.
The bill, an amendment to the state’s alcoholic control law, would require bars with open rear yards within 500 feet of a home — as well as rooftop bars less than 10 stories above an adjacent residence — to close by midnight on Fridays and Saturdays, and 11 p.m. on other nights, according to Michael Czaczkes, the assemblywoman’s community liaison who spoke at the meeting.
“The bars can still stay open till 4 a.m., but everything would have to move indoors” by 11 or midnight, added Regina Cahill, president of the North Flatbush Business Improvement District. The BID also supports the Millman bill, “which balances the interests of commercial owners and residents.” The act, No. 4667-A, also prevents amplified music in the open area and requires that there be only waiter service — i.e., no bar — in that space.
The next step for the bill is a hearing before Community Board 6’s Permits and Licenses Committee, which took place after press time. Assemblymember Millman is looking for a State Senate sponsor of the bill. Contact czaczkesm@assembly.state.ny.us if you have any questions.
from the Spring 2011 Civic News