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Washington Heights Sports Bar Fighting For Liquor License

By Carla Zanoni | June 8, 2011 1:16pm
La Esperanza Sports Bar at 2372 Amsterdam Avenue, between West 178th and 177th streets, hopes to open this summer after receiving liquor license approval.
La Esperanza Sports Bar at 2372 Amsterdam Avenue, between West 178th and 177th streets, hopes to open this summer after receiving liquor license approval.
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By Carla Zanoni

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — A bar that has not yet opened may have to scale back its business plan in order to gain community support for a liquor license.

The owner of La Esperanza Sports Bar at 2372 Amsterdam Ave. agreed to scale back her request from a full liquor license to one for wine and beer and operating hours after police said they would not support her application, because of existing problems with crime, noise and traffic congestion in the area.

"We have concerns about this location," said Captain Brian Mullen of the 33rd Precinct. "This is a very busy thoroughfare with a lot of noise complaints as is."

Although Community Board 12’s economic development committee narrowly approved a resolution Tuesday night to recommend the bar's application for a liquor license, with several stipulations in place.

They included reducing the full liquor application to wine and beer and trimming operating hours from 1 pm to 4 a.m. every day to 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. on weeknights and 1 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

The move seems to be part of a trend on the part of the board, as they seek methods to curb quality of life complaints in certain areas.

"With all the uproar, I think this will only add to the noise situation and traffic problem," said board member Richard Lewis.

The 33rd Precinct ultimately recommended against the license in any form.

"This establishment opening with any liquor license will be a problem for the community," Mullens said.

After the full board votes on the application on June 28, the State Liquor Authority will have a final say on the matter, as the community board only serves in an advisory role.

Alejandra Lopez, owner of the yet-to-open sports bar, was visibly upset by the police and community reaction to the proposal.

"I only ask that for the opportunity to open my establishment and depending on how we behave as a business, then judge how it goes," she said in Spanish.

Residents who attended the community board meeting stood firm in their objections to the bar.

Tenants from the neighboring condo at 2360 Amsterdam Ave., a building that recently auctioned off its apartments in one of the city’s largest real estate sales since the housing bubble burst, said they had concerns about another establishment opening.

Situated next door to the would-be bar, the tenants said that the nighttime scene is already a problem with several bars in the area and two popular 24-hour food trucks that draw crowds. The neighbors reported regular incidents of people in their vestibule drinking and fighting.

"We do not consent to this and we need our neighborhood to get better," said one resident representing the tenants who live above the proposed bar at 2372 and 2374 Amsterdam Avenue. "We can't sleep. What about the community?"