Long Island City windy Wednesday afternoon linkage

Drinks will be served at the bar.

Big fan of Testaccio. Good to see the positive press.

I used to be on CB2′s e-mail list (for one notification) and then they dropped me. Definately think they want as few people (or only their people) to know about these meetings.

CB2 doesn’t want the new condo people at their meetings because they will vote in favor of businesses getting liquor licenses. Their stated purpose is to limit liquor licenses and keep everything shut down in LIC by 10pm, so a select few people have pin-drop quiet sleep every night. I’m all for sleeping, but I’m also all for drinking responsibly.

Townie, you’re starting to get on people’s nerves.

Without getting drawn into a debate I do believe that there is some truth to #8. Not so much as it relates to CB2 members, but more so with the overall neighborhood. I think there is a subset that would prefer less involvement by the full community, because they are not really looking for a representative opinions. I’ve come to this conclusion by seeing the way that certain segments mobilize on issues. You don’t hear anything about it until meetings have taken place, community groups have been formed and petitions circulated and submitted etc. I just wish it was more inclusive and more open.

In the case of the CB, I just think they are incompetent. They don’t use technology, they don’t provide advance notice, they don’t have regularlly scheduled meetings, they don’t make the meeting times accessible to anyone who works for a living. i could go on and on.

I got a notice from CB2 (I had signed up for email notices). It was sent just HOURS before the meeting, and of course I already had plans so could not attend. It is clear to me, anyway, that this is CB2′s way of fulfilling a legal obligation to inform the community of meetings, but ensuring that the community does not attend. If I had my doubts before, I have none now. The community is NOT welcome.

I disagree Kay. It depends on when you walk by. On a weekday night sure there are only a spattering of customers, but should be expected. These types of establishments generally make their money on the weekends. I go to a lot of them and many are packed on a Saturday night. Also many places have a robust take out business that you would never see just by walking by. But then again why should any of this matter to anyone else other than the owner? If I want to spend money to set up a failing business that anyone right. Not sure if I can get behind some arbitrary quota set up to protect a monopoly of establishments. This just seems like a backdoor way of restricting retail growth. Those resturants that have the right mix of food service and atmosphere will always do well. Those that want to trade off of past sucess and not make the necessary investments in their business to stay competitive or are sub par by other measures will fall by the way side and be replaced.

http://www.cb2queens.org/

There is a tab for contact. Try signing up for notices of meetings there.

They need all the emails they can get. They need to be accountable and not be made up 97% of residents outside of Hunters Point. Or we should have our own CB. Last minute has been a favored strategy with them on many levels that you are not even aware of. I don’t think CB2 functions properly, but it what we have now.

I think Kim is trying to ask the questions: Is it prudent in these times and the way the community is growing to continue encouraging just restaurants. While I might agree that people should be allowed the right to commit business suicide….it is this kind of attitude that gave financial and lending institutions a green light in rating investment instruments at an A level when they knew there was no possible way they were solid. Many are all paying for that now, and a lot of people that are paying are not directly responsible. It’s easy to point at the loans in Michigan where qualifications for loan practices where just plain stupid. But business who extended credit to all the developers to build their buildings for example, and are not being paid back because of failed projects, than the distributors who service them are suffering….well the whole business hierarchy becomes a trickle down effect. It’s a delicate balance and if one industry has a monopoly it creates an imbalance. That is the only point I’m trying to make. Imbalance is not healthy. A community made of restaurants is imbalanced.

I don’t want to see anyone go out of business. But I also recognize hype, marketing, and a BLIND conspiracy for greed that can put many of us in a position of cleaning up a mess we didn’t make. Non of it’s easy to solve, we do live in a country that at least we are not killed for having these discussions. Where we have a Community Board, not a great one, but at least the appearances of one. So please continue to shout out to them.

I’ve read the ongoing posts about restaurants on this blog with great interest and sometimes great frustration as a result of my own personal experiences with the industry. My parents opened a restaurant and I saw firsthand what it did to them. The mortgaged their home to finance the costs of opening the new restaurant. They were up early in the morning dealing with vendors, inspectors, contractors, bills and employees. In the evenings the restaurant opened for business they were on site monitoring the employees, service and dealing with the day to day operations. They were almost never at home and when they were I could see the toll it was taking on them. They were constantly thinging about things like advertising, renovations, repairs, menu, etc. and the threat of going under was always present. To cut cost and keep the business viable they didn’t pay themselves a salary for years. In the end it all worked out, but it could have easily not worked putting their entire life savings at risk. At first I thought my parents were crazy for doing it, but they ultimately were happy. In speaking to a lot of their friends I understand that their experience was not uncommon.

Fact is that no one opens a restaurant out of greed, or a desire to make a quick buck. If you talk with most owners they do it out of passion or chasing a lifelong dream of working for themselves. No one goes into it as a get rich quick scheme. In fact there is no better was to lose money than to open a restaurant. This experience has helped frame the way I view a lot of these discussions. I get particularly upset when people start bashing new places before they have opened or try to restrict their hours or deny them a liquor license. These things often make the difference between going under and making ends meet. I don’t think restaurateurs should be discussed in the same sentence as bankers. They provide a valuable service to the area, they provide jobs, they pay taxes and are everyday people deserving of some respect and consideration.