A new Grand Avenue social club on Grand Avenue wants to have alcohol at its dominoes tournaments. Neighbors (pictured) fear the mix will exacerbate drug and prostitution problems already in their midst.
The fight over drinking and dominoes on Grand Avenue was one of two disagreements in two different neighborhoods over serving alcohol that surfaced at Wednesday night’s meeting of the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA). Neighbors from the other side of town, in Westville, showed up to try to stop the opening of a new bar on Fitch Street, near Southern Connecticut University.
Both groups of neighbors, on Grand Avenue and in Westville, are concerned that new drinking establishments will bring unsavory elements to their area.
Neither of the two requests were voted on at the meeting. The board will vote on them at its December meeting.
Grand Avenue
Roberto Perez (at right in picture) is the head of the Caitano Social Club, an organization of about 25 dominos enthusiasts in New Haven. Currently the club gets together to play at members’ houses, but they plan to open a new permanent location at 900 Grand Ave. (pictured below).
Perez appeared before the BZA with Frank Alvarado (at left in picture), director of the Spanish American Merchants Association, to seek a non-profit liquor license to serve alcohol at their dominoes tournaments.
They told the board that they plan to operate the club Thursday through Sunday nights, from 6 p.m. to as late as 1:30 a.m. They plan to hold regular tournaments against other dominoes teams from towns like Bridgeport, Danbury, Hartford, and possibly even as far away as Springfield, Mass.
With two 17-member teams playing in a tournament, plus spouses and guests, Alvarado estimated that they might have as many as 50 people in the social club at one time. He stressed that there will be no live entertainment.
When the time came for the public to speak out on the matter, over 20 people raised their hands in opposition to the dominoes club.
Bev Mcclure came out to the meeting with her 90-year-old mother, whom she lives with on St John Street. Among a list of concerns about the social club, Mcclure mentioned that there would be a pool table in the club, that people would be gathering in the parking lot to smoke, and that there are a number of social service agencies in the area, like Project Apoyo, that would be adversely affected by the presence of a late-night drinking establishment.
“Part of the charm of New Haven is the presence of lovely neighborhoods in walking distance of downtown,” said Phil Hull, of Wooster Square. This charm is due to the fact that “neighbors work very hard to maintain their neighborhood,” Hull continued, saying that the social club would run counter to these efforts.
Hull said he couldn’t imagine that people playing “games of backgammon” would be enough to sustain a club. “I wonder what else they’ll be doing,” he said.
Steven Garbus, of St John Street, expressed concern about “noise spillover” from the club and its parking lot. “It’s just not clear what’s going to happen in there in terms of noise and activities,” he said.
“It’s a quality of life issue,” Alexander Bragg (pictured in top photo, at far left) said. “We do not need this in our neighborhood.”
Bragg was one of several neighbors that saw the presence of a dominoes club as part and parcel of a series of issues that the neighborhood is trying to counteract. He mentioned the young parents in the neighborhood and his concern for their children, growing up around gunshots, prostitution, and drug paraphernalia and used condoms in the park.
Given the opportunity to respond to the neighbors’ concerns, Alvarado stressed that the social club is not a bar. He said that “there might be a couple of smokers outside to have a cigarette,” but that overall it will be a quiet establishment.
After the meeting, Bragg was unconvinced. He again voiced his opposition to the social club.
Westville Battle Continues
Carlos Pena (at left in picture) plans to open a new bar at 50 Fitch St. in Westville, the site of several past bars which became magnets for trouble. His plans have drawn the ire of locals, who contend that he’s marketing the bar — to be called Soco’s — directly at Southern Connecticut University students and encouraging binge drinking. (See previous independent coverage here and here).
Pena showed up at the Hall of Records on Wednesday night with attorney Timothy Lee (at right in picture) to request permission to serve alcohol at his new bar/restaurant. Describing it as a “relatively modest proposal,” Lee explained that Soco’s will be a 72-seat establishment, comprising 62 restaurant seats and 10 at the bar.
Lee said that Pena put together an “entertainment and security plan” in response to neighborhood concerns about underage drinking. The plan states that no one under 18 will be allowed in the bar, that patrons over 21 will be given a non-transferable bracelet, and that there will be a laser scanner for IDs at the door. There will be live entertainment on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights and Pena will hire off-duty police officers to help out with security during special events.
Lee argued that Pena’s past experience as a successful manager of Cosi restaurant in New Haven has shown that he can handle drinking and crowds. He said that the combination of Pena’s experience and his security plan would ensure that Soco’s would run smoothly.
Beaver Hills Alders Carl Goldfield and Tom Lehtonen were the first of a line of people to speak up in opposition to the bar.
“This is not in the interest of the public welfare,” Goldfield said. He said that Westville does not need another bar, and that that location has historically been problematic for drinking establishments. (Click here about problems with another nearby bar, and click here for the story of a murder last year outside a bar in the same location.)
“This does not help the university,” said Steve Judd, a professor at Southern and resident of Westville. He said that Pena is “trying to encourage binge drinking among college students.”
“My institution is the target of the marketing plan,” said Ron Heron (at right in picture), vice president of student affairs at Southern. Heron mentioned that the new bar’s original Facebook page had encouraged Southern students to “walk to Soco, and stumble home.” Saying that he was “deeply concerned about our youth,” Heron urged the board to vote no on the new bar.
“Crown Street is enough,” Heron said, referring to the popular college bars that line Crown Street, making it a party spot on weekend nights.
Taking the microphone a second time for his rebuttal, Attorney Lee again brought up Pena’s successful management of Cosi, saying that he has had no complaints in the two years that he’s run it. As for the problems that previous bars have caused, Lee said, “I ask that you not hold the sins of predecessors at this location against Mr Pena.”
After the meeting, Heron elaborated on his charge that Pena was marketing to college students. He said that Soco was advertising drink specials and drinking games popular with college kids, and that these features had been removed from the Facebook page only after locals objected.
Professor Judd said that Pena’s record of success with Cosi was not relevant. “This isn’t Cosi’s. That was a lunch place,” he said. “This is a different animal.”
Judd said that the last bar at 50 Fitch St. (pictured) had “devolved into such a crime-ridden place” that Southern students didn’t go there.
“You don’t plan to open a dive bar,” Judd said. “But it happens.”
“It’s not a dive bar,” Pena said, moments later. “It’s a restaurant… the vast majority is a restaurant.” He added that the inside was being completely remodeled.
Pena said that in an effort to “be a good neighbor” he reached out to the neighborhood on a “proactive basis.” When he heard of the complaints about the Facebook page, Pena said he removed all non-food references immediately.
“We responded to that with no hesitation,” said Pena, before defending his marketing plan. “Many restaurants advertise drink specials,” he said. “Does that mean that those restaurants promote binge drinking?”
Pena said that all his staff is TIPS certified and that the bar will have a “robust system” of ID verification.
Asked when he’d like to open, Pena deadpanned: “Tonight.” He said that even if he is denied a liquor license, he plans to open.
“I have to,” he said, explaining that he’s invested too much in the new bar to pull out now.