What's happening
This bill increases fines and strengthens penalties for cabaret license violations, and allows community boards to oppose new or renewed licenses.
Why it matters
Significantly increases financial risk for cabaret owners/operators. by raising maximum fines to $10,000 per violation, making non-compliance much costlier and potentially threatening the viability of offending establishments.
Makes it easier for local communities to influence nightlife businesses. by giving community boards the explicit power to oppose new or renewed cabaret licenses if they determine negative impacts on their neighborhoods, thus increasing local oversight and accountability.
Mandates stricter and more consistent enforcement. by requiring the commissioner to consider past violations when reviewing license applications or renewals, and to impose mandatory suspensions or revocations for serious or repeated offenses.
Could reshape the nightlife landscape. by potentially reducing the number of venues able to operate as cabarets, particularly in areas where community opposition is strong or where operators have a history of violations.
Albany, before your first meeting.
Every bill that moved yesterday, summarized in a sentence and ranked by impact. The Albany Scorecard follows on Sundays.
Free. Unsubscribe in one click. Want alerts on specific bills? Create an account.
Who cares
Headline styles
Raise Penalties for Cabaret Violations
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to cities
- Referred to cities
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
476
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE (Prefiled)
January 4, 2017
Introduced by Sen. PERALTA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Cities
AN ACT to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to the licensing of cabarets
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision a of section 20-360 of the administrative code of the city of New York is amended to read as follows:
a. It shall be unlawful for any person to conduct, maintain or operate, or engage in the business of conducting, maintaining or operating, a public dance hall, cabaret or catering establishment unless the premises wherein the same is conducted, maintained or operated are licensed in the manner prescribed herein. The commissioner shall impose a fine of not more than ten thousand dollars for each violation of this subdivision for the maintenance or operation of a cabaret, and he or she shall consider each such violation when determining whether to issue or renew a license pursuant to this subchapter.
§ 2. Paragraph 7 of subdivision a of section 20-361 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as renumbered by local law number 34 of the city of New York for the year 1986, is amended and a new paragraph 8 is added to read as follows:
7. the applicant, its officers, principals, directors, stockholders owning more than ten percent of the outstanding stock of the corporation and employees thereof at the premises on which the licensed business is to be conducted have at least three times been proven to be in violation of the provisions of subchapter one of chapter five of this title of this code or of any regulations promulgated thereunder[.];
8. in the case of an application for a license to maintain and operate a cabaret and upon thirty days notice to the community board for the community in which the licensed premises is to exist or exists, such
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00130-01-7
S. 476 2
community board determines that the issuance or renewal of such license would have a negative impact upon the surrounding community.
§ 3. Subdivision a of section 20-369 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as amended by local law number 34 of the city of New York for the year 1986, is amended to read as follows:
a. The commissioner may suspend or revoke a license for conduct of the licensee, its officers, principals, directors, agents or employees or in a closely held corporation, stockholders that would constitute grounds for denying the issuance of renewal of a license pursuant to section 20-361 of this [code] subchapter. Provided, however, that in the case of a cabaret license, the commissioner shall suspend or revoke such license for a period of not less than sixty days and impose a fine of not more than ten thousand dollars for each instance of conduct of the licensee, its officers, principals, directors, agents or employees, or in a closely held corporation, stockholders, that would constitute grounds for denying the issuance or renewal of such license pursuant to section 20-361 of this subchapter.
§ 4. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to the licensing of cabarets
Purpose of bill
Enhances penalties for violations by cabarets in the city of New York
Summary of specific provisions
Section 1 amends Subdivision (a) of Section 20-360 of the Administrative Code of the City of New York by including language authorizing the Commissioner of the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs to impose tines of up to $10,000 for violations of the cabaret licensing rules by establishments not holding a valid cabaret license, as well as allows the Commissioner to consider past violations of this kind in reviewing applications for a new cabaret license.
Read the full memo (695 words)
Section 2 amends Subdivision (a) of Section 20-361 of the Administrative Code of the City of New York by adding a new Paragraph 8. which allows for the rejection of an application for a cabaret license based upon a determination by the pertinent community board that the issuance or renewal of a license would have a negative impact upon the surrounding community of an establishment.
Section 3 amends Subdivision (a) of Section 20-369 of the Administrative Code of the City of New York by providing that the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs shall suspend a cabaret license for a period of sixty days upon a violation of the cabaret license rules, as well as be authorized to wage a fine of up to $10,000 against the violating establishment and/or its officers, principals, directors, agents or employees, or its stockholders in the case of a closely held corporation.
Section 4 establishes the effective date.
Justification
New York City establishments holding cabaret licenses are those that serve food and/or alcohol. as well as offer dancing for patrons within their walls, e.g.. nightclubs throughout the City. It is often the case that these nightclubs bring a negative impact upon the quality of life for residents who live in surrounding areas. Increases in noise and crime are often reported. For example. Roosevelt Avenue in Queens has become a thoroughfare filled with raucous behavior once the night falls. Making matters worse, many establishments operating as nightclubs after the sun sets are those who do not possess a requisite cabaret license that allows dancing on their premises.
While enforcement of the cabaret license rules by the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs and the New York City Police Department has been lacking in some neighborhoods, the existing penalties for violations of these rules are also too low. For instance, many fines are capped at $1,000 per violation, plausibly lending credit to the notion that it is cost effective for business owner to risk such a fine when profits for a night far exceed this occasional 'cost of doing business.'
This legislation takes a multipronged approach to improving the current state of the cabaret license rules, by allowing the Department of Consumer Affairs to issue a fine of up to $10,000 upon a cabaret license holder for each violation of the rules, which may be levied upon not just a corporate entity, but also officers, directors, shareholders, agents and employees of a violating business. The legislation also mandates a license suspension of sixty days for a violation of the cabaret license rules, which are found in the Administrative Code of the City of New York. For entities acting as a cabaret without the requisite license to do so, the legislation would similarly allow a fine of up to $10,000 against these establishments, as well as allow the Department to take these violations into account if the entity later applies for a lawful cabaret license. Finally, the legislation allows the Department to reject an application for a new cabaret license or a renewal, if the community board overseeing the location in which the establishment does business determines that an issuance would have a negative impact upon the surrounding neighborhood.
Prior legislative history
2015-2016-S.8181
Fiscal implications
To be determined.
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.