By Carla Zanoni
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
INWOOD — Representatives from the State Liquor Authority toured Dyckman Street on Thursday amid ongoing tensions between restaurant owners and Inwood residents over the strip's late-night party atmosphere.
The tour came on the heels of the latest heated liquor license renewal hearing, for Mamajuana restaurant, at 247 Dyckman Street, during which residents complained about revelers on their sidewalks.
With several liquor licenses coming up for renewal in the area, the SLA scheduled the tour so agents could get to know the bars and restaurants on the two-block stretch of Dyckman Street, between Broadway and Payson Avenue.
During the tour, some community members argued that the bars and restaurants were ruining Dyckman Street, which they said used to have a mix of hardware stores and delis.
But Fernando Mateo, a spokesman for three of the restaurants on Dyckman, described the block as drug-infested before the sidewalk cafés moved in. While speaking at a community board meeting recently, he pointed out that the restaurants have brought good jobs and business opportunities to the community.
SLA chairman Dennis Rosen said he had listened to both sides of the argument.
“I am not ready to take sides,” Rosen said. “There has been a lot of support on both sides."
