(Credit: Steve Thurston, 2022)
Sara Elacqua, the general manager of the Spa City Tap and Barrel pub, calls to the city council during debate over a resolution that could force bars closed at 2 a.m.
Saratoga Springs will send a letter to the New York State Liquor Authority each time a bar or restaurant in the city applies for a new liquor license or renews an old one. In that letter will be a request that the SLA require the holder of the license to stop serving alcohol at 2 a.m. In the case of renewals, the letter might also include a history of the establishment in terms of police or emergency services calls to the bar.
Nothing in the resolution requires the SLA to adhere to the terms of the letter, nor can the city require a state agency like the SLA to adhere to the request.
This decision came after a long, intense debate among the city council and a vote of 3 to 2 approving it. Bars and restaurants may serve alcohol until 4 a.m. in New York State currently.
It was the latest attempt by the council to address the violence that sometimes occurs in the wee hours of the morning.
Since a gunfight at about 3 a.m. Nov. 20 drew an armed police response on Broadway and left three people injured, the city council has been working to find a way to calm down late night activity especially in the downtown area around Caroline Street.
Commissioner of Public Safety James Montagnino brought the resolution before the council and he found solid support from Mayor Ron Kim. At the time of the vote, nearing midnight Dec. 20, Commissioner of Finance Minita Sanghvi proved to be the swing vote in the case. Commissioner of Accounts Dillon Moran worked actively against the resolution throughout the discussion and Commissioner of Public Works Jason Golub agreed with him later in the meeting.
[Read our earlier coverage here.]
In the arguments for the letters Mayor Ron Kim said he meets online with Capital District mayors, some of whom “were astonished” to find out Saratoga Springs was not already doing this. He added that five other Capital District mayors say writing letters works. Also, this will show the community that the city council working to fix the problem.
Montagnino maintained that the resolution puts the entire city, not just one commissioner writing, behind the letter. It gives the letter the force of will.
Moran had announced earlier in the meeting the creation of a new advisory committee that brings together bar owners, other downtown business owners, city staff, police officials and others. He maintained that writing a blanket letter for every liquor license applicant only serves to drive a wedge between the city council and the bar owners.
[Read about the committee here.]
At one point in the discussion, Golub told Montagnino that he felt the blanket resolution was too broad, adding that it was as “short cut” that would expose the city to litigation as bars and restaurants that were not part of any trouble were treated the same as those that were in trouble and that some bars would be forced closed at 2 while others could remain open.
At a number of times, Kim reminded the council that they had voted unanimously to have the mayor write a letter to the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors asking that they change the closing time to 2 a.m. He said the resolution does much the same.
“This is a complete failure of will by the city council,” he said.
The mayor maintained that waiting for the county to act was a waste of the city council’s time.
“You have to do more than write a letter, Mayor,” Golub said.
The county did not change the time after the mayor wrote the latest letter. The city’s two supervisors on the board have both said they are not in favor of changing the closing time as they are not sure it solves the problems and have reported that the county has no will to do it either.
“No other municipality wants to change the time,” Supervisor Tara Gaston said after the meeting, so the county board will not move to change it.
However, the county voted about a year ago to work with the city if the city wishes to pursue home rule with the state. That is, the county will devote time, people and resources to help the city win the ability to make rules about bar closures itself. As the law stands, the city must do what the county says in terms of closure times, unless the city can win the right for home rule from the state.
The county will not do it alone, Gaston said after the meeting: “The [city] council has to be the driver.”
Late in the debate, Sanghvi attempted to parse the arguments and highlighted three competing ideas to solve the problems: Moran's advisory committee, working with the county to change home rule, and the resolution to write letters to the SLA.
“To me, it makes sense to pursue all of these options,” she said.
The vote was taken shortly thereafter. However, there were no amendments and no plan was made to work on all three ideas. It remains unclear what will happen there.
Bartenders and bar owners spoken to at the meeting, mostly off-the-record, were not happy with the resolution.
"We are not the enemy. We are not the problem," said Brian Miller of the Sound Bar and the Bourbon Room.
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Sidebar: Kim once again said that the committee Moran created should not have Moran on the committee, much less co-chair with Saratoga Chamber President Todd Shimkus. It was a conflict of interest, the mayor said, as the committee would be making policies and recommendations for how bars and restaurants should operate. Moran owns a small stake in Druthers Brewery which has a pub and restaurant on Broadway.
Moran maintains that the committee is advisory only and as such does not make policy or law but recommends ideas. He said that he owns about 2% of the Druther’s corporation.
Montagnino and Kim pointed out that he is a partial bar owner and a city commissioner and should step off the committee. They pointed to City Attorney Tony Izzo whose cousin owns a local establishment, and Izzo has said he will recuse himself from liquor license discussions.