Could this become "Footloose II: Turtle Bay"?
Copia, a bar on East 53rd Street, is getting reamed for hosting illegal dancing behind its doors, reports DNAinfo.
Copia is limited to serving drinks and food due to zoning regulations. It legally cannot allow any dancing at all because it doesn't hold the required cabaret license to do so.
Neighbors complained at a recent Community Board 6 meeting that the boogie woogie is to blame for drawing a raucous crowd to the quiet side street at night, making it nearly impossible to sleep on the weekends.
The East Midtown Neighborhood Coalition also wrote a letter to the board calling Copia "a detriment to the quality of life in the neighborhood."
The board decided to take drastic measures. It passed a resolution asking the State Liquor Authority to revoke all of Copia's liquor licenses until it agrees to the "no dancing" rule. They also asked them to announce that it is not allowed by placing a sign in the window as well as on their website.
Copia's owner, Michael Hynes, originally appeared before CB6 last month seeking approval of corporate change so he could pass ownership of the business to Christopher Falesto.
The board quickly brought up the dancing issue and said the request for corporate change would only be accepted after the two signed a form pledging to ban the bumping and grinding.
Hynes ad Falesto refused, completely denying the classification of the establishment as a dance club. They shared their concern that a ban on dancing would be too difficult to police at a bar.
After the meeting, the two withdrew their corporate change request.
CB6 event went as far as sending in a representative to the club on a Saturday night, which proved the neighbors' allegations of grooving were indeed true.
The resolution to revoke Copia's liquor license until the "no dancing" ban is implemented was still sent to the State Liquor Authority, though community board members weren't sure what actions the authority would take upon receiving it.
For more information on this story, visit DNAinfo.
Copia: 307 E 53rd Street, bet. 1st and 2nd Aves.
