MIDTOWN — A Midtown nightclub with a "rap sheet" of violations had an application to renew its license denied Wednesday.
The Parlour Midtown, cited by police and the State Liquor Authority for violations ranging from selling booze to minors to allowing pot smoking, went before Community Board 5's quality of life committee with requests for a liquor license renewal and a cabaret license.
But the committee unanimously voted to deny both applications, with chair Nicholas Athanail noting that “this is one of the worst rap sheets I’ve seen in my history as chairman.”
That same day, the SLA brought disciplinary charges against the club, which is located at 247 W. 30th Street and has been drawing the ire of noise-plagued, sleep-deprived neighbors for months. The authority will now hold a hearing to determine if Parlour’s liquor license will be canceled or revoked.
A revocation is the stiffest penalty the SLA can enforce and not only strips a license from its owner, but also bars that person from holding any liquor license for two years.
At the Community Board 5 meeting on Wednesday, committee members detailed the slew of violations issued against the club since October of 2010.
The list included citations for serving alcohol to a minor, pot smoking going on inside the club, employing unlicensed security guards and operating as an illegal cabaret. Clubs need a cabaret license from the city’s Department of Consumer Affairs to allow and promote dancing on the premises.
The latest in the string of illegal activities took place on Feb. 19, just three days before the meeting, when an officer from the Midtown South precinct slapped Parlour with yet another violation for illegally operating as a cabaret.
Representatives from Parlour dismissed several of the citations, claiming that some occurred before a change in management about six months ago.
“The place was obviously run horribly [before the change in management],” said Jason Ash, the current general manager of Parlour, who was reportedly sued last year for allegedly sexually harassing female employees when he was the manager of the AVA Lounge inside the Dream Hotel on West 55th Street.
“I came in six months ago to change all that around,” he added.
Ash has been a regular presence at meetings of the Midtown South police precinct community council, where residents often air their gripes about Parlour.
At a precinct council meeting last week, Ash said he had employed two people to clean the area around the club and neighboring buildings from 10 p.m. to 5:30 a.m., after receiving complaints about beer bottles, hair extensions and condoms littering the streets.
Ash also promised to invite neighbors to the club every two weeks so they could voice any grievances directly with club management.
“You have my word that we want to make it better for everybody,” Ash told officers and residents last week.
But for Parlour’s neighbors, that may be too little too late.
“I have two young kids. We can’t sleep at night,” a woman who lives at 252 W. 30th Street but declined to give her name said Wednesday.
“It’s not fair,” she added. “It’s a family building and we shouldn’t have to tolerate that kind of behavior right outside our window.”
Vincent Avena, the club’s owner, promised to make changes but also defended the club, claiming it is a "gorgeous" establishment that attracts a celebrity crowd that has included tennis great John McEnroe.
“The business we run is a high-class, neighborhood place that is good for the neighborhood,” Avena said.
In an interview after the meeting, Ash dismissed the criticism and comments from residents and committee members.
“It’s a witch hunt,” Ash said. “They’re bringing stuff up that happened years ago.
“We are still going to try to move forward the best we can legally."
