[RP TownTalk] Opposing New Liquor Store on Kenilworth Avenue

Mon Feb 11 00:55:18 UTC 2008

Bruce, since it was first brought to our attention here on TownTalk
that a "Class B+ liquor license with drive through" was being sought
for location on Kenilworth -- originally at the corner of Riverdale,
and now a block down in the Alamo restaurant shopping center -- I have
done quite a bit of thinking on this, and in my mind there is tension
resulting from some conflicting principles at play here.

The list of points/questions/issues seems long, but it doesn't get any
shorter in my mind:

1. Yes, we want to encourage the opening of new businesses, just as we
strive to prevent the closing of existing ones.

2. While certain types of businesses (including, I believe, liquor
stores) have been proscribed for the Town Center area under the M-UTC
guidelines, as far as I am aware that is not (yet) the case for
Kenilworth Avenue -- and why should it be? As far as I'm aware no one
here is advocating a return to the days of prohibition.

3. As an aside, the more I think about this it seems like an
unintended consequence of the rule that largely keeps grocery stores
from selling even beer and wine in this county/state.  If we instead
could pick up our beer and wine at Giant or El Grandé Super Market,
maybe there'd be a lot less demand for these corner eyesore liquor
stores... just a thought.

4. Initially I found myself questioning whether our "Not in our side
yard!" reaction to this liquor permit application wasn't a bit
hypocritical, given the appreciation and allegiance often voiced here
for the Dumm's Corner business right here in Town Center.  Why is it
ok here, even laudable, and not at the other end of Riverdale Road?

5. Pondering that more, I figured that 'well, it's not about the
existence of a liquor store, it's about the *density* of liquor stores
in an area...  OK, that seems fair. But do the zoning laws say
anything about density as a criteria for granting or refusing
applications? I have no idea, but am assuming they don't since no such
language has been cited as part of this discussion that I am aware of.

6. Clearly, though there is a sense that Kenilworth Ave in Riverdale
Park, north to south, is all in all a pretty seedy looking "strip."

7.  And yet, if you look at the Alamo buildings (which include 5552
Kenilworth) they are really the most attractive buildings on the
entire stretch of Kenilworth in our town.  Do we really know what type
of establishment they intend? Consider that Franklin's restaurant is a
bar, brew pub, restaurant, and off-premise sales (at least for beer
and wine).  None of is objecting to that fact, are we? On the
contrary, one day we'll build a statue to honor Mike and Debbie
Franklin for their contribution to the revitalization of Route 1.

8. Aha! There's that word "Revitalization."  There's a "Central
Kenilworth Avenue Revitalization" process underway, isn't there?  And
one argument against the granting of this license is that it runs
counter to this new spirit of revitalization for the corridor... But
that takes me back to my question: Do we know what kind of
establishment they intend? I haven't been in the Alamo myself, but
some townsfolk have written decent reviews of it on the Wiki. And I as
I said, the building is probably the most attractive on that road. So
what if they intend a quality restaurant? Isn't that precisely the
kind of development that we do want? And were that to be the case,
would it be terrible if they also had an off-sale liquor license?
(Conversely, would they be amenable to reducing their application to
include only the on-premise sales and not the off-sales?)

9. Does the fact that they've withdrawn their request for a drive-thru
window change anything? (My understanding is that they withdrew that
part of it when they changed the address from the corner of Riverdale
Rd. down to 5552 Kenilworth) I can certainly see the objection to that
(but I object to drive-thru service pretty universally -- what a waste
of precious fossil fuels!) but what about now that that's no longer on
the table? What is the essence of the remaining objection now?

10. Going around yesterday and today to take some photos of the area's
liquor stores I have to say they are collectively pretty ugly. No
doubt about it. And usually accompanied by a lot of litter, and in
some cases, loiterers. But it doesn't have to be that way -- does it?

11. It seems to me to be more about signage, maintenance of buildings,
use and design of the buildings (ugly strip mall parking lots, etc),
than about the type of the establishment.  Look at the litter in front
of the liquor store at Riverdale Plaza (Photo #3 in my collection here
at: http://picasaweb.google.com/dwightrholmes/KenilworthAveQuestion ).
 The whole parking lot is like that -- not just the liquor store. So
is our gripe with the existence of liquor stores? or with the
management of the shopping center? We have laws and ordinances that
have to do with litter and maintenance of property? Is code
enforcement doing all it can and should in this regard? And more
relevant to the issue at hand here, would denial of this license
application prevent a worsening of these problems?

12. Does the Central Kenilworth Avenue Revitalization project have
anything yet to say about zoning and other issues? (I'm guessing no,
as it is just getting started) Could they sometime soon institute a
"stay" on all new business location applications (liquor and
otherwise) until such time that they have a Plan in place? (I have no
idea if such a legal mechanism exists).  Hopefully they can do
something about the rag-tag appearance up and down the strip, perhaps
provide some incentives to spruce up the facades, tame the signage,
etc. and improve the overall look of the place.

13. So when you boil it all down, what is at the root of opposition to
this license? Is it density? "We have enough liquor stores in the area
already." I can certainly appreciate that, more not less so after my
photo-taking excursion this weekend. But if the zoning laws say
nothing about that what is the rational basis for opposition?

Conclusion: I'm not at a conclusion yet. I'd like to know more about
what their actual plans are, what's the nature of the business they
plan to open. Based on that I guess I can finalize an opinion on the
immediate issue at hand.  Meanwhile, I'd like the Central Kenilworth
Avenue Revitalization project to step in absolutely as soon as
possible to actively begin the revitalization that I'm sure we all
would like to see.

If you've gotten this far, thanks for bearing with me.  I look forward
to hearing from everyone who can answer any of my questions and/or
shed light on or offer a different perspective on any of the points
I've raised.

Dwight Holmes
Riverdale Rd -- "the shortest route between Town Center and the
Kenilworth Corridor"

On Feb 10, 2008 4:39 PM, Bruce Wernek <bruce.wernek at mindspring.com> wrote:
>
>
> All
>
> I've been reading quite a bit recently about the opposition to this liquor license.  Many of us talk about business development, but we don't do anything to encourage it.  Working cooperatively with the businesses in our Town to achieve common goals is what business development is all about, not viceral opposition to something we find unfavorable.  This could be an opportunity to get something from the business owner in exchange for the liquor license.  Perhaps bearing the financial burden of cleaning up the trash in the area or some other activity which benefits the community.  Another liquor license is not going to have any negative effect given the numerous liquor stores in the immediate area.
>
> Opposition gets you the likes of Jeys Auto at the corner of Madison and Rt 1 and a bad rap in the business community.  If any of you haven't seen Jeys Auto, I strongly encourage you to take 5 minutes of your time and check it out before you oppose anything.
>
> Bruce
>
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: towntalk-bounces at riverdale-park.org [mailto:towntalk-bounces at riverdale-park.org] On Behalf Of Alice Ewen Walker
> Sent: Sunday, February 10, 2008 12:32 PM
> To: Lou King
> Cc: TownTalk
> Subject: Re: [RP TownTalk] Opposing New Liquor Store on Kennilworth Avenue
>
>
> Lou:
>
>
> On Feb 10, 2008 12:07 PM, Lou King <lking at knob.com> wrote:
> > Did I miss the posting?
> >
>
>
>
> Yes, here's the link:
> http://riverdale-park.org/pipermail/towntalk/2008-February/003406.html
>
>
> - Alice
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