By Serena Solomon
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
CHELSEA — A proposed gay sports bar got the greenlight for a liquor license from Community Board 5, but not without additional restrictions brought on by bad memories of the notorious nightclub Limelight.
The board voted 19 to 14, granting Boxers NYC, planned for 37 W. 20th St., a full liquor license with stipulations. But the space is steps away from the historic church that housed the now-defunct hotspot known for drugs and wild revelry.
"I think they (residents) have suffered a lot from clubs and this is not a club," Boxers co-owner Bob Fluet said. "The reality is we are just creating a sports bar."
He said the bar was a completely unique venture for the city, and it will fill another vacant space on the block.
Michele Golden admitted taking a liking to the future operators, but feared the liquor license could fall into the wrong hands.
"We feel this is a personal insult to put another liquor license in the area," said Golden, director of the Flatiron Alliance and a Chelsea resident. "We are saturated. We can't take one more liquor license we can't get rid of."
To help calm local nerves, the board added stipulations requiring any new bar operator seeking to have the license transferred to get the approval of CB5. Other stipulations included a ban on DJs and club promoters, and a provision for a 24-hour complaint hotline — a mandate usually reserved for clubs that are already terrorizing neighbors.
The stipulations recommended by the board are passed onto the New York State Liquor Authority, who has the final say on all liquor license approvals.
David Zerykier, from the New York Gay Pool League who labelled himself a future patron of the bar, spoke directly to residents' scarred memories.
"It's not Limelight," he said. "It's for watching TV and eating pizza."
The bar would mostly draw gay sports teams on weekend afternoons seeking a quiet celebration, and those wanting company when watching a televised game, Zerykier said.
For some residents, however, no promise was good enough.
"We have too many bars and too many problems," said Larry Aronson, who lives and works in Chelsea. "We need other types of establishments besides those where people get drunk."
