| Cloister Cafe Sued NYS
Liquor Authority Amid COVID, Faces Dismissal
For Not Prosecuting
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
- The
Source
SDNY
COURTHOUSE, Sept 28
– The New York State
Liquor Authority was sued by
Cloister Cafe on 9th Street in
the East Village, for
violating its due process
rights with regard to COVID-19
outdoor dining restrictions.
In the Complaint,
Cloister Cafe noted a
Gothamist article alleging
they were hosting "illegal,
illicit pandemic parties"
based on an Instagram post by
Kristina Alaniesse a/k/a
KristinaForMayor.
U.S.
District Court for the
Southern District of New York
Judge Lewis A. Kaplan held a
proceeding. Inner City Press
covered and live tweeted a
thread, below.
On
September 2, 2020 in a
literary ruling, Judge Kaplan
denied the Cafe a stay: "In
ordinary times, spring is when
life begins to emerge fromthe
proverbial and actual snows of
winter after months of
hibernation. But in 2020,
spring became a second and
more deadly winter. It was a
time when the world was
required to engage in
extraordinary social
distancing measures to halt
the spread of the COVID-19
pandemic... The Court does not
mean to discount the
plaintiffs’ belief that they
were treated unfairly. But on
this record, the most
plausible inference is that
the SLA acted rationally by
suspending the plaintiffs’
liquor license in the interest
of public safety when it
possessed a not insubstantial
amount of information that the
plaintiffs were engaging in
conduct that posed an imminent
threat to the health and
safety of New Yorkers. There
is no evidence of which the
Court is aware that the SLA
singled out the plaintiffs or
that any differential
treatment was anything other
than a mistake." The motion
for a preliminary injunction
was denied.
Jump cut
two years forward, and the
case may be dismissed: "ORDER
TO SHOW CAUSE. Plaintiff shall
show cause on or before
October 12, 2022 why this case
should not be dismissed for
failure to prosecute. SO
ORDERED. (Signed by Judge
Lewis A. Kaplan on 9/28/22)."
Previously: Judge
Kaplan: The SLA has the whip
hand. The applicants' choices
are, make a deal with the SLA
or go out of business. People
should be presumed innocent,
including those cited by the
SLA for alleged
violations...
Judge Kaplan:
That people negotiate with the
SLA doesn't prove the
Constitution has been
satisfied.
NYS lawyer Ben
Liebowitz: If they had asked
for a post deprivation
hearing, they could already be
having one.... Under Section
54 of Title 9 of NYC
CRR...
Judge Kaplan:
Let's get to the real world.
These are four brothers who've
operated a business for a long
time. After a time they
operated under the name of a
defunct corporation. I have a
pretty good idea who the
shareholders are: the Drobenko
brothers.
[Inner City Press
note: it's now Cafe Tucano.]
Now Cloister
Cafe's lawyer: When it comes
to the Gansevoort Hotel, a few
photos are enough. But in this
case, they're not. It doesn't
make any sense.
Judge Kaplan:
That all of you. I will expect
a letter today. Ideally, it
would be one agreed to by both
sides. If possible, the
plaintiff should say it is
satisfied it has a remedy. For
now I will reserve decision.
When I hear from you, I will
rule if necessary.
The case is The
Cloister East, Inc. v. New
York State Liquor Authority,
20-cv-6545 (Kaplan).
***
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