On weekends, “bottomless” bellinis and mimosas are a Manhattan tradition for both tourists and locals. The future of this tradition, however, may be uncertain.<\/p>\n
On September 19, East Village resident Robert Halpern filed a lawsuit challenging the legality of \u201cbottomless brunch,\u201d a practice in which restaurants offer limitless alcohol for set fees during breakfast and lunch hours.<\/p>\n
Filed against the New York State Liquor Authority (SLA), the suit states that \u201cbottomless brunch\u201d violates the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law\u2019s ban on serving unlimited drinks. Halpern\u2019s lawsuit seeks to overturn a 2014 case that established an exception for brunch, according to court records. If successful, this lawsuit could outlaw the \u201cbottomless\u201d brunch deal for Manhattanites.<\/p>\n
The 2014 verdict ruled that the unlimited service of alcoholic beverages is acceptable \u201cwhen the service of alcohol is incidental to the event.\u201d This ruling declared brunch an \u201cevent,\u201d according to a New York Hospitality Alliance press release.<\/p>\n
Halpern sees the lawsuit as part of an escalating conflict especially visible in the East Village and the Lower East Side, which Community Board 3 (CB3) presides over.<\/p>\n
The conflict concerns liquor license density, which is the concentration of liquor-serving establishments in a given area \u2014 one license for every 1,000 to 3,000 people is often ideal, according to various state liquor associations.<\/p>\n
Halpern suggests that the issue underpinning his lawsuit is \u201cexcessive licensing,\u201d which refers to a high saturation of liquor-serving businesses in an area. The zip codes that compose most of CB3’s jurisdiction \u2014 10009 and 10002 \u2014 are home to 546 active on-premise liquor licenses, according to the SLA\u2019s public data.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t stop at bottomless brunches,\u201d Halpern said. \u201cThere\u2019s also the 500 Foot Rule, which is continually violated.\u201d<\/p>\n
The SLA\u2019s 500 Foot Rule stipulates that when there are three or more on-premise liquor licenses within the 500 foot radius of a proposed business, potential licensees must prove that they operate in the \u201cpublic interest.\u201d CB3 is responsible for holding its licensing committee and their licensees to the 500 Foot Rule.<\/p>\n
The \u201con-premise\u201d distinction matters, according to Jason Cook, manager of September Wine & Spirits. Off-premise licenses designate alcohol as a retail endeavor, while on-premise licenses allow both the sale and consumption of alcohol at the business itself, he said.<\/p>\n
Activist Diem Boyd, who founded the LES Dwellers Block Association, a group of residents\u2019 advocates, suggests licensing should be rooted in public health issues.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the only industry where we have to ask, \u2018What happens when there\u2019s too many?\u201d Boyd said.<\/p>\n
Sigmund Shipp, a professor of urban studies at Hunter College,\u00a0 expressed concern about the connection between liquor license density and public health at a September 12 panel before CB3\u2019s Transportation, Public Safety, & Environment Committee. Shipp said excessive noise has been shown to increase anxiety, insomnia, and hypertension among local residents, according to a six-week study of “Hell Square,” a 24-block nightlife district in the Lower East Side.<\/p>\n
CB3 member Karlin Chan supports Halpern\u2019s lawsuit.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope he wins and sets a precedent, then maybe [the SLA] will be more concerned with residents\u2019 issues,\u201d Chan said.<\/p>\n
No businesses named in the lawsuit responded to requests for comment.<\/p>\n
For Chan,\u00a0 the root of the problem is simple.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlcohol pays,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On weekends, “bottomless” bellinis and mimosas are a Manhattan tradition for both tourists and locals. The future of this tradition, however, may be uncertain. On September 19, East Village resident Robert Halpern filed a lawsuit challenging the legality of \u201cbottomless brunch,\u201d a practice in which restaurants offer limitless alcohol for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":158,"featured_media":159,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[43,45,46,44],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n