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Times Square Comedy Club Passes Dancing Hurdle

By DNAinfo Staff on January 6, 2011 10:15am

By Jill Colvin

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

MIDTOWN — The owners of a Times Square comedy club were laughing all the way to the dance floor Wednesday after a committee voted to recommend granting them a license for dancing despite local opposition.

Residents and the Reverend of a Times Square Church had tried to block the Ha! Comedy Club at 163 W. 46th St. from getting a "cabaret license" that would permit dancing as well as stand-up routines for fear the cavernous underground 11,000 square foot space would be transformed into a nightclub.

"We have major, major concerns," said long-time resident Kathleen Cromwell, a member of the West 46th Street Block Association, who has lived on the block for 30 years.

She and others argued that the block, which is home to a school and the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, is already overrun by bars that make life miserable for residents.

"This is like a perfect storm waiting to happen," Cromwell testified before Community Board 5's Public Safety and Quality of Life committee, which held a hearing on the application Wednesday night. "We're trying to avert disaster."

But the owners maintained that they have no intention of turning the former laser tag space into a nightclub. Even if they did, he said he was prohibited from doing so by his lease.

"There's just no interest in becoming a nightclub," said Anthony DiNapoli, 41, a midtown resident who has managed the stand-up joint for 10 years.

He said all he wanted was permission to stage off-Broadway shows where audience members can get up and dance in the aisles. Ha! is currently staging productions of "NYC Dueling Pianos" and "Girl Talk: The Musical," where patrons are encouraged to participate.

In New York City, establishments must obtain a separate license from the Department of Consumer Affairs for patrons to be allowed to dance.

"Technically, if there's anybody in the place standing up and dancing, you're in trouble," he said, later testifying that he had been slapped with at least one fine for not having the license during police raids.

He said that seeking the license was a precaution to prevent future raids from closing him down, which could destroy his business.

"That I'd never recover from. That's the fear. Not the fine," he said.

After hearing DiNapoli's testimony, both residents and board members said they were largely convinced of Ha!'s intentions, but some feared what would happen with new owners, who not need to re-apply for new cabaret licenses once they take over a space.

Others thought there could be a better fix, since other off-Broadway shows operate without cabarets.

"I think we're setting a dangerous precedent by issuing a cabaret license that they really don't need," said board member and bar-runner Ron Dwenger.

"I don't think [that's] the answer," he said.

DiNapoli disagreed.

"You can't tell me that because of what somebody else is going to do I'm going to lose my livelihood," he said.

As a compromise, the board voted 7 to 3 to recommend granting the licence, but with strict stipulations, including a written agreement that dancing only be permitted in Ha!'s Midtown Theater room and only in connection with theatrical performances.

The decision will now come before the full board at its monthly meeting on Jan. 13.

The application had been scheduled for a vote last month, but the committee postponed the hearing to give the club a last-minute chance to make amends with residents after being alerted by DNAinfo to residents' concerns.