By Carla Zanoni
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
UPPER MANHATTAN — Three liquor licenses were approved and three were denied at an Upper Manhattan community board meeting Tuesday night.
Of particular interest to Upper Manhattan residents were the fates of three newcomers: Hudson Heights' Dark Horse, which after previously being denied by Community Board 12 was approved on Tuesday, Inwood's Dominican food restaurant Sazones, which was turned down, and the Washington Heights Dragon Lounge, which was denied a license due to considerable pressure from locals and police.
Dark Horse earned a second look after the board realized a miscommunication caused the owners to miss CB12's Economic Development Committee meeting in October. The no-show caused the board to automatically vote against Dark Horse's application, as per board rules.
CB12 member Elizabeth Lorris Ritter urged board members Tuesday to vote in favor of the new establishment, described as a "family-style" Irish-American pub, much like An Beal Bocht Cafe, the owner's Riverdale outpost. The owners also run Arlene's Grocery on Stanton Street and Scratcher on East 5th Street.
"I live steps from where this place will be and I can't wait to see it open," Ritter said.
"It was worth the wait," said owner Tiornagh Harmon.
Inwood restaurant Sazones at 5885 Broadway, a new Dominican food restaurant on upper Broadway that caters to daytime lunch crowds and local clubgoers looking for an after-party, received a "no" vote because the owners had not appeared at an earlier Economic Development committee meeting.
Sazones is run by the same owners of Tobaco y Ron and Vin-Tich and a new Brazilian steakhouse in Inwood called Churrascaria Amores.
Dragon Lounge was also denied a liquor license. As a result of concerns voiced from the 33rd Precinct and neighborhood residents, their application was denied.
Police said there have been numerous issues with the site, including "gunshots fired, grand larceny, underage drinking and nuisance abatement."
Neighbors said they were worried the owners would ultimately be operating a new nightclub instead of a restaurant, voicing concern that the owner's plan to stop serving dinner at 11 p.m., but stay open serving alcohol until 3:30 a.m. would make the space more like a nightclub.
The community board's votes on liquor licenses are only advisory; the State Liquor Authority has the final say.
