S.L.A.

Location: Certain neighborhood factions have been clamoring for a New York City representative on th  read more »

The government may have stripped him of his title as C.E.O.  read more »

In the strip-club biz, throwing money at things is only common courtesy. All too often, government acts the same way.

Why can't these two sides just get along?

The State Liquor Authority (S.L.A.) on Wednesday rejected a cash offer of $25,000 from embattled Manhattan meat market Scores West--the Post went with "mammary mecca"--to settle all this stupid nonsense about losing its liquor license over a few silly prostitution charges.

(Whew! We were worried the S.L.A. might charge the gentlemen's club with something serious, like soliciting drinks.)

Instead, the S.L.A. gentlemanly offered a counter proposal:

"Members offered to accept a license revocation, a two year proscription on the premises, a $1,000 bond claim and a $25,000 civil penalty."

In other words, they'll take the $25,000 and then some, but only if the club and its patrons stay sober for the next two years. Then maybe, the club can apply to get its booze permit back. (The place is presently still serving drinks, pursuant to a court order temporarily blocking an S.L.A.-ordered suspension.)

What's $25,000 to Scores? Roughly 1,250 lapdances. Or, about one-tenth of at least one poor sucker's $241,000 bill.

Or, if these prostitution charges are to be believed, that's what, a mere 35 to 125 "sexual favors" ($200 to $700 a pop, according to the Post)?

Can Scores West survive on lapdances alone for two whole years? The business still has 13 years left on its lease. Ownership is reportedly mulling the S.L.A.'s counter-offer.

- Chris Shott

“We don’t want to appear to be antagonistic to anyone,” said restaurateur Gayle Patrick-Odeen,  read more »

“We don’t want to appear to be antagonistic to anyone,” said restaurateur Gayle Pa  read more »

Yesterday the New York State Senate confirmed Daniel Boyle, the former police chief of Glennville, N.Y., as the head of the State Liquor Authority. Local officials and community boards--particularly in Chelsea and the Lower East Side, where complaints about bar and club over-saturation--have been pushing Governor Pataki to appoint someone from New York City, only to have their plea fall on deaf ears.

The Governor has another opportunity: Commissioner Joseph C. Zarriello, from Colonie, N.Y., near Albany, recently announced plans to step down from the S.L.A.

-Matthew Grace

There’s no question that the East Side will be getting shafted—it’s just a questio  read more »

There’s no question that the East Side will be getting shafted—it’s just a question of where a  read more »

There’s no question that the East Side will be getting shafted—it’s just a question of where a  read more »

Last night at Community Board 3's traffic and transportation committee meeting, the issue on everybody's mind was whether to convert Avenue B into a one-way street. As it stands now, residents and business owners (with the possible exception of nightclub owners; nary a one showed up at the meeting) are fed up with traffic and nightlife-fueled problems in the 'hood.

Reactions to the proposal were mixed. Most people were worried that the character of the neighborhood would be changed beyond recognition--from the quaint village-y "Main Street" it resembles now to a thoroughfare-bisected 14-block stretch that cars would use to zoom up to 14th Street from the Billyburg Bridge (or vice versa, depending on the direction of the road).

Representatives from both the Ninth Precinct and the Department of Transportation attended the meeting, but in an advisory capacity; neither wanted to advocate, for now, a change.

According to district manager Susan Stetzer, the D.O.T. will now meet with the Police Department to try to come up with a solution to the traffic on Avenue B, and the D.O.T. will come back to the board with its suggestions.  read more »

There was consensus, though, on one issue: the need to stop approving liquor licenses for new restaurants and bars in the nightclub-oversaturated area. The first big battle is at the State Liquor Authority hearing for EU, a new club that's due to open at 235 East Fourth Street, at the corner of Avenue B, which is ground zero for traffic and noise problems according area residents. Mr. Crane and Ms. Stetzer implored everyone to show up en masse to get the S.L.A. to deny the license at the hearing, which will be on Dec. 13 at 317 Lenox Avenue (at 126th Street), fourth floor, at 11 a.m.

-Matthew Grace

Paging Dr. Harold Varmus: Negative Results on Build Plan A year and a half ago, Dr.  read more »