The Albany Common Council is mulling over changes to a law that limits where and when venues can host live entertainment.
The Albany Common Council has for months been working to update and simplify the 2017 Cabaret law.
The law was initially passed as part of an effort to curb violence at late-night establishments.
Under the statute, cabaret licenses must be approved annually by five city departments including police and fire, all council members, the Business Improvement District and any neighborhood association active in the ward where the venue is located.
Councilors say business owners routinely question whether the law is needed. During Monday night's session, council members discussed its implementation and effectiveness.
6th ward Councilor Richard Conti, who represents the busy Center Square neighborhood, said one revision is needed to provide for a three-year license versus the existing one-year license.
"It also provides for what I call a 'rolling expiration date.' So it expires every 36 months from the date it's issued to 36 months later, where in the current system the one year license is issued for a specific calendar year from January 1 to December 31st, so if you might get a license on November 1st, for example, you have to reapply January 1 for your renewal. That doesn't make any sense," said Conti.
During public comment, real estate agent Anton Pasquill addressed the panel, criticizing the current law. "There was a subtext to the original bill, which was rooted in 'Not in my backyardism' and more than a few dog whistle references to specific venues such as the then infamous Sneaky Pete's. This subtext, in my opinion, resulted in a final bill that was heavily restrictive of live entertainment," Pasquill said.
Sneaky Pete's was a Central Avenue nightspot that was shuttered to make way for construction of a supermarket in 2011.The popular club drew a large minority crowd. The Albany Times-Union reported efforts to relocate were thwarted by Albany city officials, with the owner alleging racial bias in the city's ultimate rejection of the business.
15th ward Councilor Tom Hoey says the Cabaret law is entangled with Albany's Unified Sustainable Development Ordinance, also passed in 2017.
Hoey says if the council voted to abolish the Cabaret law, it would leave some parts of the USDO "totally confusing" and open to lawsuits. He expects negotiations to continue in earnest to resolve the crisis.
"We would sunset this new law that would replace the old law, and then, in the meantime, try to upgrade the USDO, so it would be under the USDO, where the regulations would be," explained Hoey, who pointed out "There would be no licensing, there would be no renewals. It would just be under the USDO. So the meeting ended last night. We did do a couple of compromises. One of the things was, we're looking at the fees for the three year right now it's being proposed at $250 I proposed an amendment that it would be $25, but there's still some discussion on that."
Hoey says previous legislation aiming to modify the Cabaret law was debated on and voted down.
"What we're waiting to do now is to meet again, and hopefully we can get this compromise legislation put in place, and then, you know, start working on the USDO, which is very complicated. I was thinking maybe we could do it in a year, but people felt it might be longer than that. But you'll have to stay tuned to see what the committee comes up with," Hoey said.
A meeting date is to be determined.
