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SARATOGA SPRINGS – If a resolution is approved Tuesday night by the City Council, applications from new bars for liquor licenses or ones seeking to renew or amend their licenses will include a letter from the city to the state Liquor Authority asking that approval include a 2 a.m. closure time.
The resolution is meant to be a work-around after the city requested county support in petitioning the SLA to change bar closing times to 2 a.m. from the current 4 a.m., but has yet to receive any support from the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors.
“I did some research and found that communities frequently communicate with the SLA and ask for specific restrictions in a number of areas, along which are differences in closing times, so I put forward the proposed resolutions to see if we can gradually get the times rolled back by this method,” said Public Safety Commissioner James Montagnino Monday, who is bringing the resolution forward.
The county has not indicated when it will respond to the city’s request.
“The county has received and is reviewing written correspondence from the city that requests the county enact and submit a resolution to the State Liquor Authority prohibiting the sales of alcohol for on-premises consumption from 2 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Sundays and 2 a.m.to 8 a.m. all other days within the city of Saratoga Springs,” said Christine Rush, the director of public relations for Saratoga County.
The resolution is just one of a slew of attempts the city has made at easing issues in the Caroline Street area, which houses the city’s bar nightlife and has been a contentious topic over the years. The most recent attempts to curtail trouble in the area follow a Nov. 20 shooting on Broadway during which city police officers shot an armed man multiple times after he failed to follow several commands to drop his gun, according to authorities.
The man, who survived but was badly injured, was identified as Vito Caselnova, an off-duty Vermont sheriff’s deputy. Police have said that Caselnova and a man from Utica were shooting at each other, with the Utica man being struck. He was taken to the hospital along with Caselnova. Both were expected to recover.
There are currently at least three bars that cannot serve alcohol past 2 a.m. under their SLA license.
Montagnino said Gaffney’s and Clancy’s on Caroline Street must close around 2 a.m. as part of their licensing due to past issues. Accounts Commissioner Dillon Moran said the license for Lucy’s Bar, also on Caroline Street, prohibits the establishment from selling alcohol past 2 a.m.
Moran said he spoke to the city attorney Dec. 7 about such a resolution and isn’t sure why the public safety commissioner is taking it up since he deals with permits in the city. Moran said he hasn’t heard back from the city attorney on the legality of such a resolution.
“Does this set us up to be sued because we’re treating people differently?” he said.
Moran also said that, while he supports a 2 a.m. closing time, some time changes may not even be able to take place since it’s a three-year renewal process.
“We can’t just start throwing things at the wall and see what sticks,” he said.
City Downtown Business Association President Deann Devitt said the association and business owners are working with city officials to figure out the best way to move forward, including being part of a committee Moran will be establishing.
The committee is being formed as a way for city officials and area bar owners to communicate on issues and ways to resolve those problems. The committee will include bar owners and other organizations. City Finance Commissioner Minita Sanghvi will also sit on the committee.
Names of other committee members are expected to be announced Tuesday evening at the City Council meeting.
“We want to see Saratoga safe and we want to see our businesses thrive,” Devitt said.
The SLA on Monday said it does not generally look at items like the hours of operation of an establishment when determining whether to renew the business’s license.
“It is important to note that the SLA’s renewal process is principally an administrative function; licensed establishments that apply in a timely fashion are commonly renewed, and generally are not subject to the rigorous review undertaken for new license applications,” the SLA said in an emailed statement.
However, the applicant of an on-premise license and the municipality can make an agreement that includes such measures as closing times, according to the SLA.
“In these cases, the SLA incorporates these stipulations into the license and failure to comply with these conditions subjects the licensee to disciplinary action,” the SLA said.
According to the SLA, businesses that want to apply for an on-premise license are required to notify the municipality 30 days prior to applying for the license.
“The intent of this statute is to provide the municipality time to advise the SLA whether they support or oppose the application,” the SLA said.
New applications that are opposed by a municipality are sent to a board for review.
Along with this latest resolution, the city is continuing to push back against a temporary restraining order that was granted to District Attorney Karen Heggen, which prohibits city officials and employees from speaking publicly about possible evidence in the Nov. 20 shooting.
On Nov. 23 state Supreme Court Justice Dianne Freestone issued an order barring city officials and employees from speaking publicly about the Nov. 20 shooting after city officials held a press conference about the shooting, spoke to multiple media outlets and released two separate sets of video footage showing the shooting, including police body camera footage. The district attorney had opposed the release of some information in this early stage of the investigation.
The city, during a special meeting last Friday, hired James Knox, an attorney with the law firm E. Stewart Jones Hacker Murphy, at a rate of $400 per hour to represent them in the case.
Montagnino said the city did not use its own attorney because he indicated that such proceedings were not something he was familiar with.
All of this comes after Heggen sent city officials a letter on Dec. 2 indicating she would like to talk things over with the city.
“We wanted to have them available as our counsel when we do meet with the district attorney, which I believe will be soon,” Montagnino said.
But the city will also use the counsel to meet filing deadlines related to the order and Knox will represent the city should discussions with Heggen regarding the gag order yield no success in getting it removed or amended.
Montagnino on Monday said Knox was studying issues related to the court’s jurisdiction and the constitutionality of the gag order.
Montagnino said the city doesn’t go before the judge for about a week or so.
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