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Bouley's Liquor License Voted Down A Second Time
Unlike the last meeting, when Bouley and his lawyer Warren Pesetsky appeared blindsided by the opposition, this time they came prepared with supporters and literature. Pesetsky handed out a dozen testimonial letters from local residents and businesses and a list of nearly 100 New York institutions that have received charitable contributions from the chef. At last month’s meeting, Bouley had engaged in extended verbal disputes with committee members. This time he observed the proceedings from the hallway, letting Pesetsky to the talking for him. Still, the restaurateur was visibly upset as some committee members’ repeatedly characterized him as a “bad neighbor.” He paced, muttered to himself, and called his lawyer out into the hallway to direct him to rebut some of the arguments he disagreed with. In Pesetsky’s opening statement, [mp3 audio] he called for committee member Julie Nadel to recuse herself, “because of her personal antagonism to Mr. Bouley.” Nadel, who lives in a building that houses one of Bouley’s restaurants, spearheaded the opposition to his liquor license at the previous meeting when she passed around news clippings and court records concerning problems with Bouley’s restaurants.
“I don’t like your choice of words describing a board member,” she said. “So far everything’s been nice. Let’s keep it that way.” Pesetsky argued that some of the issues Nadel had raised at the last meeting, such as a dispute with his insurance company over lost income after Sept. 11, are beyond the board’s concern and irrelevant to his client’s request for a liquor license. “This board should be about balancing the quality of life issues between residential interests and commercial interests,” Pesetsky said. “I don’t think anyone here can honestly say that any of Mr. Bouley’s restaurants have had an adverse impact on the quality of life or the sleep of any of the members of the community.” Andy Neal was unmoved by Pesetsky’s presentation, however. “There’s constant traffic problems because of black cars piling up outside of the restaurants,” he said. “There’s just a complete lack of respect for people who live in the district by Mr. Bouley and his staff.” Nadel seconded Neal’s opposition, reiterating her list of complaints [mp3 audio] against Bouley, and rebutted his earlier claim that he is the victim of a “witch-hunt.” “This is the Community Board discussing the record of this restaurateur in this neighborhood and deciding what we want to do,” Nadel said. “This is what a community board is supposed to do.”
“It’s a ten-year track record,” Parker Davidson said. “It’s about character. You’ve made this about being a good neighbor, so I think it’s important that you understand the restaurateur and the man.” Sharon Herschkowitz-Levy, the owner of the Balloon Saloon, touted the high-spending customers Bouley’s restaurants have brought to Tribeca. “He’s been nothing but a positive contributor to the neighborhood,” she said. The committee voted 6-4 against giving Bouley his license, leaving open the possibility that his fortunes could change when the question is put to the full board March 25. And even that vote is only advisory to the State Liquor Authority, which makes the final decision. In the hallway after the vote, Bouley declined to comment, saying only “It’s pretty transparent, I think.”
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