The Streets Where We Live

WaHi's Monkey Room Gets Committee Approval for Liquor License Renewal

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — Despite concerns there may be too much monkeying around at the Monkey Room Bar and Lounge in Hudson Heights, a Community Board 12 committee voted to recommend renewing its liquor license.

Several residents came to the board’s Economic Development committee meeting to complain the club’s patrons continue to carouse outside its location at 589 Fort Washington Avenue when the bar lets out at 4 a.m., screaming and carrying on and often getting into fights on the block.

Read more about the Monkey Room at DNAinfo.com.

Inwood Restaurant Wins 2010 Small Business Award for Employing People with Disabilities

INWOOD — When the owners of Indian Road Café opened their eatery in 2008, the owners decided to hire people who have disabilities whenever possible.

As a result of that decision, the café was named the 2010 small business recipient of the "Works For Me" award from the New York State Office for People with Development Disabilities. They received the award for their "supportive attitude when it comes to employing people with developmental disabilities." They say they do it because it's just the right thing to do.

Read more about the Indian Road Cafe at DNAinfo.com.

New Restaurant 'Hallacas' Brings More Venezuelan Flavor Uptown

INWOOD — Upper Manhattan is having a love affair with Venezuelan food.

The longtime culinary land of Dominican fare is gaining competition as the South American food fast becomes a favorite through Washington Heights and Inwood, featuring newcomer Hallacas at 253 Sherman Avenue, between Isham and W. 207th streets, as its latest star.

It’s "natural," head chef Josefina Errante said in Spanish, explaining that Venezuela is a seaside country and is home to a people who represent a melting pot of ethnicities but share a common food culture.

Fried green plantains, rice and beans with stewed meats, and the hallaca, the store’s namesake, a food normally served during the holidays, all find a home on traditional Venezuelan menus.

Read more about the Venezuelan food on Sherman Avenue at DNAinfo.com. 

 

3 Approved, 3 Denied Liquor Licenses by Upper Manhattan Community Board

Dark Horse restaurant was one of three restaurants to get a vote of approval on a new liquor license. Three other restaurants did not receive a positive recommendation on their applications. (DNAinfo/Carla Zanoni)

 

 

UPPER MANHATTAN — Three liquor licenses were approved and three were denied at an Upper Manhattan community board meeting Tuesday night.

Of particular interest to Upper Manhattan residents were the fates of three newcomers: Hudson Heights' Dark Horse, which after previously being denied by Community Board 12 was approved on Tuesday, Inwood's Dominican food restaurant Sazones, which was turned down, and the Washington Heights Dragon Lounge, which was denied a license due to considerable pressure from locals and police.

Read more about the decisions at DNAinfo.com.

Dark Horse's Liquor License Application Gets Second Look From Community Board

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — Dark Horse, the proposed Washington Heights outpost of the owners of Downtown staples Arlene's Grocery and Scratcher, won a liquor license recommendation from a Community Board 12 committee on Tuesday.

The full board had initially voted against Dark Horse's application last month because of a longstanding policy that automatically vetoes applications when owners do not show up to speak to the board about their business plans. Dark Horse was granted a redo after the board realized they weren't given adequate notice to attend the committee meeting.

The committee voted in favor of granting a full liquor license Tuesday night after a presentation from the owners who said they want to bring an Irish American "family-style" pub experience to 839 W. 181st St. in Hudson Heights — the same space previously inhabited by Agave Azul and Hispañola, two failed restaurants.

Read more at DNAinfo.com.

Councilman Pressures Noisy Dyckman Street Restaurants to Close Sidewalk Cafes Earlier

INWOOD — When noise complaints on Dyckman Street reached a fever pitch this summer, elected officials began working with restaurant owners so that they could keep making money without depriving their neighbors of a good night’s sleep.

But one restaurant seems reluctant to play by the new rules.

City Councilman Robert Jackson, whose district encompasses the Dyckman Street area west of Broadway, began meeting with restaurant owners to ask them to reduce sidewalk cafe hours and work on better business practices for the neighborhood, and many of them agreed.

As a result, popular — some say too popular — restaurants Mamajuana and Papasito have reduced their outdoor hours of operation by one hour, closing the outdoor seating at 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.

Some said the reduced hours have resulted in a quieter Dyckman Street area.

"We still have a ways to go, but a few of these places have gotten better," 43-year-old William Meyers, who lives nearby on Dyckman Street, said.

But when a representative from Jackson’s office met with Il Sole owner Sandra Jaquez to discuss adopting a similar policy on Thursday, she reportedly said adopting the shorter hours would bring on economic hardship.

Read more about Dyckman Street at DNAinfo.com. 

Inwood's Cairo Club One Step Closer to Opening After Liquor License OK

INWOOD — After more than a year of false starts, Cairo nightclub is one step closer to opening its doors in Upper Manhattan.

Despite a "no" vote from the board on a previous liquor license application, Community Board 12 voted to recommend the owners receive a license to serve alcohol at the club's 400 West 202nd St. location.

The board had previously voted against the license back in June 2009, citing too many complaints about established bars, restaurants and clubs in the area.

Read more about Cairo at DNAinfo.com. 

No Liquor License for New WaHi Pub by Owners of Arlene's Grocery, Community Board Says

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — These days opening a pub downtown may be easier than opening one uptown.

The owners of several popular bars and pubs in the East Village and Lower East Side have been hoping to open a new restaurant, to be called the Dark Horse, in Hudson Heights.

Their hopes were dealt a serous blow when Community Board 12 voted 18 to 14 against the restaurant’s application for a liquor license. The license application was shot down because of a policy that dictates the board automatically recommends against a license when an owner fails to appear at the board’s Economic Development committee meeting.

The owners of Arlene’s Grocery on Stanton Street and Scratcher on East 5th Street said they want to bring the Irish American dining experience to 839 W. 181st St. in Hudson Heights — the same space previously inhabited by Agave Azul and Hispañola, two failed restaurants.

Read more at DNAinfo.com. 

Inwood Nightspot Mamajuana to Meet with LES Neighbors Prior to Opening

By Patrick Hedlund

DNAinfo News Editor

LOWER EAST SIDE — Popular Inwood lounge Mamajuana will meet with Lower East Side neighbors to discuss potential issues related to the restaurant's plan to open on Norfolk Street next year.

Representatives from the Dominican-themed nightspot — whose original uptown outpost has proven to be a big draw for locals — appeared before Community Board 3's liquor license committee Monday to pitch its proposal to take over the former Tonic music venue at 107 Norfolk St.

Read more about the Mamajuana plan at DNAinfo.com.

Fire Destroys a Neighborhood Bodega in Inwood

By Jennifer Glickel and Jordan Heller

DNAinfo Staff

INWOOD — A fire ripped through an Inwood bodega Monday afternoon, completely destroying what local residents called a "neighborhood institution."

The blaze erupted about 1 p.m. at the Rima Discount bodega at 4791 Broadway and quickly spread to Genesis's Fruit Mania, a neighboring cafe, the FDNY said.

Michael Leanza, the FDNY batallion chief at the scene, said 75 firefighters and 15 trucks responded and extinguished the fire about 2:30 p.m. — but not before both the bodega and cafe were razed.

Read more at DNAinfo.com.