Alcohol establishments in Albany drop by 20 percent over 16 years

ALBANY — Over the past two years, licensing for alcohol sales, particularly in residential neighborhoods, has at times been a contentious issue for the Albany City Commission.

During that time, Commissioners Jon Howard and Demetrius Young have attempted to put a timeout on issuing new licenses for a set period of time with a moratorium proposed earlier this year, without success.

There also have been complaints about the concentration of establishments selling beer, wine and liquor in distressed areas in the city.

In October, commissioners shot down a proposed liquor store at 1515 Clark Avenue in a 5-2 vote to deny the license as opponents of the location held signs outside the council chambers. Several commissioners cited the neighborhood and residents’ concerns in voting no.

While a resident watching commission meetings could get the impression that the number of restaurants, liquor stores and convenience stores selling alcoholic beverages is proliferating, it actually is about 20 percent less than it was 16 years ago.

During a Tuesday report to the commission, Code Enforcement Director Nathaniel Norman said that the COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on establishments that sell alcohol, which stood at 205 licensed establishments as of this week.

“We had the most alcohol licenses, 250, in 2005,” Norman said. “Since that time we’ve had a lot of businesses that went out of business.”

Over the past 10 years, the number has declined from 224 in 2012 to 198 five years later, according to the report presented to commissioners. After remaining unchanged the next year, the number dropped to 194 in 2019 and then increased to 199 last year.

The city’s charter allows one license for on-premises consumption for each 800 residents per ward, and Ward III had the most of those establishments with 12 out of a maximum of 16. Ward V was second with seven, followed by Wards I and II with four each, three in Ward VI and two in Ward IV.

The most active licenses for any ward are in Ward V with 55, followed by 50 in Ward III, 32 in Ward !, 20 in Ward II, 21 in Ward VI and 18 in Ward IV.

One alcohol license is up for a vote next week by the commission, the NYSE Hookah Bar, located at the site of a former club that closed at 2203 E. Broad Ave. and in Howards’ Ward I in east Albany.

“The one we’re going to vote on Tuesday, it’s less than 100 yards from a liquor store and less than 100 yards from another nightclub/bar,” Howard said during a telephone interview following the meeting.

The commissioner said he still supports a temporary moratorium to allow a time to study the impact of alcohol establishments in the city.

After hearing the report about actions taken in 2020 at three nightclubs that produced the most calls for service to the Albany Police Department, Howard said he was satisfied with the actions taken in those cases.

Norman reported that three establishments, Big Daddy’s Lounge, Legend Lounge and the Sand Trap were put under review after they accounted last year for 11, 38 and 22 service calls, respectively. The clubs were required to have off-duty police officers on premises while open and to beef up security lighting and security cameras.

“The main reason they were under review is there was a lot of gun violence taking place,” Norman said. “The police department wanted us to put them under review (to) change their habits. They did comply with those things.”

The office during 2021 also has checked nightclubs to monitor whether they were serving intoxicated patrons, selling to those who are underage and complying with fire regulations. Other stores that sell alcohol were checked through operations to determine whether they were making sales to under-age individuals.

Ward IV Commissioner Chad Warbington said during a telephone interview that the commission’s role is to protect neighborhoods when making decisions that can affect them such as alcohol licensing and zoning.

“We’re pro-business on one hand,” said Warbington, who joined Commissioners B.J. Fletcher, Matt Fuller, Howard and Young last month in the vote against the liquor store license on Clark Avenue. “On the other hand, we’re pro-neighborhood, pro-citizen. I think it’s important for a commission to control the narrative, control the direction of the city.

“If you deny everything, that’s not good. If you approve everything, that’s not good. I think we’ve shown there’s a (middle).”

Staff Photo: Alan MauldinAlanMauldin[email protected]