The New York State Liquor Authority has approved later closing hours for a bar in downtown Saratoga Springs, one week after a measure to establish an earlier last call for certain establishments was withdrawn
The New York State Liquor Authority at a hearing in New York City Tuesday considered a case from the new owners of the Stadium Café in Saratoga Springs, who object to a recommendation by the city to keep closing hours at 2 am. The new owners are seeking to extend last call to 4.
Bill Crowley, a spokesman for the SLA, said the authority must review applications on a case-by-case basis.
“In this case we have a qualified applicant, we have a location with no violations going back at least a decade, and we have a letter from the city saying they have no objections to the application. Consequently, the board found there’s nothing in this application that would warrant earlier closing hours than any other bar in the county.”
The decision comes a week after Public Safety Commissioner Chris Mathiesen submitted — and then withdrew — a measure to the city council that would designate a so-called “nightclub district” surrounding the busy Caroline Street area, and asked that the SLA recommend 2 a.m. closing hours for businesses outside the district.
Mathiesen said the business has the right to pursue a later closing time and there have been no major public safety issues at the establishment before, but he attributed that to its earlier closing time of 2 a.m., a policy many establishments outside of the Caroline Street area also follow.
“Stadium Café is one of many establishments along Broadway that do not stay open, historically, until 4. And that’s part of the reason they have had such a pristine record,” said Mathiesen.
Because the city focuses its police force on the busy Caroline Street area after 2 a.m., Mathiesen said when other bars stay open later, it becomes a safety concern.
Michael Carota, an attorney representing Scott Schreifles, the new owner of the sports bar, said he was not surprised by the SLA’s decision.
“The Stadium Café is not a known trouble spot. There’s no police calls there, there haven’t been any complaints, so really they’re an upstanding business in the downtown Saratoga community district.”
Citing the business’ record, Carota said Mathiesen did not have a “rational basis” to seek earlier closing hours.
The Public Safety Commissioner is not the only local official in recent years to call for earlier closing hours in Saratoga Springs. In 2010, a push by Commisioner of Accounts John Franck would have rolled back last call to 2 a.m. during the city’s “offseason” — after the busy summer tourist months.
In 2012, the city council asked the county to set a last call of 3 a.m., but the measure was not taken up by the county board.
In recent years, Warren and Essex Counties have established a 3 a.m. last call.
Mathiesen said he continues to feel that 4 is too late.
EDIT: 2/12/15 - A transcription error was fixed. The SLA has said the establishment has had "no violations going back at least a decade"
