Yankee Doodles' Nightclub Plan Falls Flat

Jorge Casuso

The City Council Tuesday night turned down a proposal by Yankee Doodles to add a dance floor, bar and dining area to the restaurant and billiard hall on the Third Street Promenade.

In a 4 to 2 vote, the council upheld a Planning Commission denial of the proposal, arguing that the changes would technically turn the establishment into a nightclub that would increase patron activity and alcohol consumption.

"It seems to me the closer I look at this that this is more a bar type of establishment than a food type of establishment," said Councilman Richard Bloom, who voted to uphold the denial. "It doesn't have a comfort factor."

"To me this is not an issue of fine tuning," said Councilman Kevin McKeown, who also voted against the proposal. "I don't believe the proposal in its fundamental form takes us where we want to go."

Yankee Doodles president Herb Astrow said the proposal was necessary because less and less people are interested in billiards than in dining and dancing.

"The interest in billiards has gone down dramatically in the last ten years," Astrow said. "The demand for dining has gone up dramatically."

Yankee Doodles' proposal reduced the number of pool tables and eliminated an air hockey table, two foosball tables and an arcade game. It also added a 345-square-foot dance floor and a new 360 square foot walk-up service bar and increased seating to accommodate a total of 365 patrons. The proposed changes also would increase the capacity in the 15,000 square foot establishment from 499 patrons to 822.

Council members Robert Holbrook and Paul Rosenstein backed the proposal, saying the changes would add a much-needed venue for an older crowd. They also argued that, if anything, the proposal would decrease alcohol use and bring dining to a popular strip that is losing restaurants to more lucrative retail outlets.

"It would probably de-emphasize alcohol," Rosenstein said. "We have to be concerned about the future of restaurants because of the shift in real estate that's existing.

"There is also value in promoting activities for an older or more mature group of people or people who are not very young," Rosenstein said. "The more varied kinds of attraction we give, the more exciting and wonderful place the Promenade will be."

"Let's allow these folks to adjust their business and not run the risk of losing another restaurant to retail users," Holbrook said.

Holbrook and Rosenstein attached conditions to the proposal that included banning any live broadcasts promoting the venue, not allowing customers to queue up outside and prohibiting events from going after hours. They also required that a security plan be submitted to police for approval.

Police vice squad inspector David Rynski said he worried about increasing capacity and adding a bar.

"I don't think I'd even feel comfortable going into a place where you have 800 people drinking alcohol," Rynski said.

Councilman Michael Feinstein argued that any decision should be delayed until the City enacts a policy that encourages retaining restaurants on the Promenade.

"I see this as something that could apply not only to them but to other restaurants in the district," Feinstein said. "What would my answer be to another restaurant and another restaurant seeking similar things?"

Rosenstein countered that given the staff's workload and the slow-turning wheels of bureaucracy, it could take 10 years before the City sets a policy for Promenade restaurants.

Competitor Renee Mizrahi, who owns Gotham Hall on the Promenade, testified against the proposal.

"The nightclub business is not increasing, it's decreasing," said Mizrahi, adding that her nightclub had cut back dancing from four days a week to weekends. "The proposal is nothing unique. Why are we duplicating ourselves on the Promenade?"

The Bayside District Board of Directors, which sets policy for the downtown area, including the Promenade endorsed the proposal.

"The board supported this proposal unanimously and enthusiastically," said Art Harris, a member of the Bayside board.