By Carla Zanoni
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — Dark Horse, the proposed Washington Heights outpost of the owners of Downtown staples Arlene's Grocery and Scratcher, won a liquor license recommendation from a Community Board 12 committee on Tuesday.
The full board had initially voted against Dark Horse's application last month because of a longstanding policy that automatically vetoes applications when owners do not show up to speak to the board about their business plans. Dark Horse was granted a redo after the board realized they weren't given adequate notice to attend the committee meeting.
The committee voted in favor of granting a full liquor license Tuesday night after a presentation from the owners who said they want to bring an Irish American "family-style" pub experience to 839 W. 181st St. in Hudson Heights — the same space previously inhabited by Agave Azul and Hispañola, two failed restaurants.
"We’re trying to incorporate what we have in Riverdale," owner Tiornagh Harmon said. "We want this to be a place for people in the neighborhood to come and enjoy."
The Dark Horse owners also run Arlene’s Grocery on Stanton Street, Scratcher on East 5th Street and the popular Riverdale pub called An Beal Bocht Cafe, on West 238th Street, between Greystone and Waldo avenues.
Although the majority of public voters were in favor of recommending the license, some residents voiced concerns about granting another liquor license on West 181st Street, an area that has been the source of many quality of life concerns in the past.
"I think they can be successful if they limit their liquor license," said Amala Lane, who lives across the street from the Dark Horse site. "We need a neighborhood place for families. Not another bar."
Lane and others said they were worried the owners would not be able to keep patrons from double parking on the congested street that leads to the Henry Hudson Highway or rowdy behavior when leaving the pub late at night.
"We want you to do something great for the community," Lane, 52, said. "But if you want to do something here then you have to understand the community and problems we’ve had in the past."
Representatives from the 34th Precinct warned the owners that they would need to hire security to manage issues that may arise, but did not recommend against the license.
The next step is for the CB12 to vote again during its full board meeting on Nov. 23. Then the State Liquor Authority will have a final say in the matter.
