ONEONTA _ The New York State Liquor Authority today may suspend two downtown bars referred by the city of Oneonta for allegedly violating state liquor laws.
The Alley and The Republic are on the agenda for the Liquor Authority's full board meeting. The bars were on the agenda for the June 25 meeting, but rulings were postponed until today.
The Liquor Authority allows bar owners to negotiate no-contest plea deals to retain their liquor licenses.
Attorneys for each of the bars have submitted offers, Bill Crowley of the state Liquor Authority previously said. He said he could not release any details of the offers.
City officials at a Board of Public Safety meeting in May said The Republic is believed to be facing a $7,500 fine and a 35-day suspension.
The Alley is facing a $7,000 fine and 20-day suspension, Police Chief Joseph Redmond said at a Board of Public Safety meeting last month.
That board, which consists of all eight city aldermen, authorized Mayor John Nader to send letters to the Liquor Authority requesting that any suspension handed down to the bars be served between Sept. 1 and Dec. 1, 2008, during the fall collegiate semester.
Nader and other city officials are concerned the bars will be allowed to serve their suspensions when Hartwick College and the State University College at Oneonta are not in session.
Crowley has said the board is aware Oneonta is a college town, and that if there are suspensions, it is likely they will begin on or around Sept. 1.
According to the city:
ä The Republic is under disciplinary scrutiny for the following alleged infractions: Jan. 20, 2007 _ sale to a minor, unlicensed security guard, exceeding maximum occupancy and paperwork violations; Sept. 8 _ failure to supervise; and Oct. 12 _ failure to supervise and sale to a minor.
ä The Alley is facing possible action for alleged infractions March 8, March 15 and March 22, 2003 _ disorderly premises; Jan. 20, 2007 _ sale to a minor 18 or younger, paperwork violations, unlicensed security guards and contaminated bottles; and Jan. 25, 2008 _ failure to supervise.
In addition, the Republic was the subject of referrals in April from the city to the Liquor Authority for other alleged alcohol-related offenses that are not a part of the cases to be ruled on today.
The latest bar to be referred to the Liquor Authority is also the city's newest.
A woman filed a complaint with police alleging The Sake Club on Main Street served alcohol to her 17-year-old daughter in early June, Sgt. Douglas Brenner of the Oneonta Police Department said Tuesday.
Police also responded to a domestic-violence complaint at The Sake Club on June 3, he said, and one of those involved was a 19-year-old who had been drinking at the bar.
On June 6, police arrested bartender Zhan Chen, 24, on a charge of prohibited sale of alcohol to a minor after he sold alcohol to an underage civilian employee of the police department, according to police.
The charge is a misdemeanor under the state's liquor law, Brenner said.
"Chief Redmond has advised me and he has been in touch with (The Sake Club) to rectify the situation," Nader said Tuesday.
The Sake Club's liquor license went into effect April 23, according to Liquor Authority records.
The referral was made around June 10, Brenner said.
If referrals lead to investigations by the Liquor Authority, alleged violators of the state's alcohol laws are given a chance to plead not guilty, no contest or conditional no contest, the last of which allows the accused to negotiate penalties, according to the Liquor Authority.
Those who plead not guilty are subject to a hearing before an administrative law judge.
Punishment may include civil penalties, a forfeiture of the licensee's bond and license suspension, cancellation and revocation, according to the Liquor Authority.
A bar owner whose license is revoked may not seek another license for two years. However, a canceled-license holder may apply for a new license.
The Liquor Authority may also summarily suspend the license of an establishment that is found to be flagrantly violating alcohol laws if the business is viewed as an immediate threat to public safety.
