Owl’s Nest Still Endangered

The owner of a controversial former Westville bar found his request to open up elsewhere on Whalley denied by a zoning board – and roundly denounced by neighbors.

Joseph Cunha, who owned the Owl’s Nest Café formerly at 3 Tour Ave. in Westville until this summer, applied for an exception from the Board of Zoning Appeals to allow a restaurant liquor license in a general business district at 533 Whalley Ave. He has been seeking a new home for his bar since April.

Despite various testimonies to Cunha’s generosity and community spirit, most neighbors who spoke out at Tuesday night’s monthly zoning board meeting said they felt a bar at 533 Whalley would increase violence and disruption in the neighborhood. Board members also debated with Cunha’s lawyer about what board Chair Patricia King called technical ​“inconsistencies” in the application.

Four out of five board members denied the request ​“without prejudice,” which will allow Cunha to reapply after fixing his application. One member, Gaylord Bourne, voted to ​“flat-out” deny the request for a restaurant liquor license.

In addition to the liquor license, Cunha requested to increase the seating number from 38 to 46 and extend closing time to 1 a.m. on weeknights and 2 a.m. on weekend nights, according to his lawyer, Nicole Cunha, who claimed she is no relation to the applicant.

Zoning commissioners disagreed with Nicole Cunha over whether the request to increase the seating number had been appropriately submitted to the board. City deputy zoning director Tom Talbot said he had been under the impression the owner was asking to keep the number of seats the same.

Nicole Cunha explained the inconsistencies later by saying she had stepped in last minute to fill the role of her client’s attorney.

She told the zoning board that her client had entered into a verbal agreement with managers of the nearby Dollar Haven at 488 Whalley Ave. to let the bar’s customers park in the store’s parking lot, two blocks away. The lot is never at capacity, she said.

Board member Victor Fasano expressed concern that the store is too far away and that it lies across the street from the proposed location of the bar, meaning people will be ​“crossing Whalley in large numbers.”

The lawyer responded that people in New Haven are used to walking significant distances to park their cars and have to ​“make do when there is no parking in the city.”

Nicole Cunha said her client’s establishment at its prior location served upstanding professionals and members of law enforcement. Joseph Cunha has been in business in New Haven for 15 years and plans to hire police officers to patrol the surrounding area, deterring crime, she said.

Three people, including West Rock Alder Carlton Staggers, spoke in favor of the liquor license at Tuesday’s meeting. Ten people, including two alders, spoke against it.

Rob Fluitt (pictured), a city corrections employee, said Joseph Cunha has always run a ​“nice, respectable business” and contributed generously to the community.

“When kids in the city die from violence in the streets, I raise money to help the families bury the kids,” Fluitt said. ​“A lot of the communities don’t help … but Joe never closes his doors” and matches his donations.

Most agreed the owner was a good influence, but said that the establishment would not be.

Beaver Hills Alder Richard Furlow and Edgewood Alder Evette Hamilton spoke out against the proposed liquor license, noting that the store Liquor World is situated a mere 10 feet away.

Furlow said although he wanted a business to move into the space, the plan received ​“mixed reviews” from his constituents with ​“many also opposed.” A bar is not the right fit, he said.

Hamilton said she had spoken to a family on Hobart Street already affected by the proximity of Liquor World. ​“People urinate on their front lawn in the morning,” she said.

Jerry Smart (pictured at top) lives on Blake Street, around the corner from the proposed bar. He joined the long train of detractors. His 9‑year-old son takes the bus to Amistad Academy at 6:45 a.m. each day.

“I don’t think any bar brings anything good to the community,” he said.

Sheila Masterson, executive director of the Whalley Special Services District, said the board of directors had opposed the request for the exception at an Oct. 1 meeting. She said the Whalley-Edgewood-Beaver Hills management team has offered to help Cunha find a ​“more suitable space” and had not heard back from him.

“The offer still stands,” she said.

Joseph Cunha declined to comment after the meeting. Nicole Cunha said she did not know what the next step will be in the process.