Our victory is a victory for communities throughout Brooklyn and greater New York. For too long developers have acted capriciously and selfishly to mine profits from trendy neighborhoods. Everywhere neighborhoods are starting to fight back, insisting that they will be heard on community planning issues and acting, where necessary, to legally block ill-advised commercial development. Northsiders are legitimately concerned about the rise in late-night eating and drinking establishments in residential areas, and the scale and siting of this nightclub was particularly egregious, with residential buildings on either side and people living on the first floors of almost every building on the entire block.
Seniors live in almost every building, along with families whose children play on the sidewalks.
In such instances, it is incumbent upon the applicant to show compelling community support for the issuance of a new license. We successfully demonstrated that no such support exists and that, in fact, there is a widespread desire among residents to choke off the development of more bars and clubs if possible. FOTN was not particularly concerned about actual sound emanating from the club, because soundproofing was supposed to be extensive. In fact it did turn out to be a considerable problem. The apartment next door vibrated from the sounds of music, and the family of four next to the site summoned the NYC Department of Environmental Protection, who warned Sin-E the club would be given a violation if the problem did not abate.