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*This article originally appeared in our November 2024 issue*
The Great Cabaret Crackdown: the Fight for the Future of Lark Street Revolves Around One Decade-Old Statute
The spirit of music is the spirit of liberation; that wave that hits you when those vibrations and lyrics mesh with your soul and the sensation of song crescendos into a wave of pure freedom. What happens, then, when that wave crashes into the retaining wall of order that so many local governments are intent on maintaining? An example of the results can be found right here in Albany, specifically on Lark Street, as the consequences of what some have referred to as a “draconian” cabaret license law have boiled over these last few weeks.
The law was initially passed in 2012 in response to a wave of violent crime at Pearl Street bars which culminated in a 2010 shooting at Plastic, a nightclub that was ordered closed just days after the incident. In the aftermath, there was a swell of support for the city to take more control over its nightlife and more direct action against venues that it determined were bad actors.
Prior to the legislation, the zoning board gave approvals to a bar that could not be taken away even when ownership of the bar was transferred. The city then had to appeal to the State Liquor Authority in order to suspend a venue’s liquor license.
It was claimed that the new licensing law would streamline the process of approving music at venues, despite now requiring a venue to get approval from seven (!) different local entities, including the city’s Planning Department, Police Department, Fire Department, Division of Buildings and Regulatory Compliance, Law Department, plus all Common Council members and the Business Improvement District and neighborhood associations, if applicable.
Nick Warchol, co-owner of the Larkin Hifi, disagrees.
“That’s a lie. It was put in place because there were a bunch of clubs where a lot of violence was happening,” he says. “They were trying to figure out a way to police certain clubs that they thought were dangerous.”
For Warchol, this is an anti-business law that only serves to make the process for licensure more complicated and open to potential bias. It also happens to be a little more personal for him as just last month, his venue drew the ire of code enforcement.
“[An inspector] came through at 11 (PM); he was trying to shut down the DJ. I told him that I wasn’t going to stop as we have every right to do this. I tried to show him the law on my phone to explain why I think I’m completely within my right to do this. I asked him if he knew the law, and he said, ‘I don’t care what the law says’”.
Warchol said that the code inspector left, but returned an hour later with police to shut the DJ down which led to the bar losing clientele.
“Everybody left the bar,” he bemoans. “It was a full bar on a Friday night. They said they didn’t tell anyone to leave, that they didn’t shut us down – but if you turn off all of the music in a place where people came to see a DJ, what do you think people are going to do?”
He said that in their last two hours of business, Larkin Hifi posted no sales that night. Unfortunately, it did not end there; code enforcement returned the following night. Warchol decided that he would not cancel the planned entertainment for Saturday evening, that he would do the same thing he did every weekend, and reopen as usual.
“They came and they tried to shut it down again, this time like a raid. There were a bunch of cops and multiple codes officials. They all rally up and congregate at the corner before they descend upon the bar; they’re walking through the bar trying to intimidate people. Obviously it makes customers uncomfortable.”
This ultimately led to a verbal altercation between Warchol and the codes officials in the street in front of the bar, with Warchol attempting to stand his ground and prevent them from closing Larkin Hifi down. Eventually, after a long discussion, they left without shutting the music down again.
The fierce disagreement between Warchol and the City of Albany stems from what is often the most criticized feature of the legislation: its vague and sometimes somewhat contradictory wording. The law defines a cabaret establishment as: “Any room, place or space in the City in which any musical entertainment, singing, dancing or other form of entertainment is permitted in connection with a catering establishment, tavern or restaurant business or an establishment directly or indirectly selling to the public food or drink, except eating or drinking places which provide incidental musical entertainment performed by fewer than three people with no amplification, or through a central audio system, including the use of a jukebox,” and defines entertainment as “dancing, a disc jockey (DJ), karaoke machine or live music that is amplified and/or performed by three or more people.”
The city claims that because The Larkin Hifi had a DJ they were in violation of the code because they lack a cabaret license; Warchol claims that the DJ was playing music through a central audio system, which is clearly noted as an exception in the statute and therefore should be allowed without a cabaret license. This lack of clarity is something that many, including Warchol, have said can allow the law to be wielded with personal bias, unfairly hurting businesses who’ve run afoul of the wrong people.
Among those concerned about the possibility of bias and discrimination is Councilman Sergio Adams, who is co-sponsoring an effort to repeal and improve the cabaret license law. When asked whether his constituents had raised any concerns of this nature, he said, “Yes, there is a long history there of business owners in Albany who have tried to open up businesses within the last ten years that have felt this law is discriminatory.
“It trickles down to the businesses themselves, how they have to remove certain music from their playlist, or not have live music, or only play certain music, or on certain nights put certain dress codes in to prevent certain demographics of people from coming in. So, there’s a long history there that’s part of what’s going on. I think a lot of people are aware of the history of cabaret law, not just in Albany but all over.”
That included New York City, where cabaret law famously impacted the jazz community and black-owned businesses for decades before finally being fully repealed in 2017. As previously mentioned, Adams and fellow councilman Jack Flynn are attempting a repeal effort of their own. Adams says that a lot of the issues have been noticed by many in the community, including how generic it is in what it explains, not being specific enough as to what business owners need to do to obtain and maintain their license and the city’s enforcement role in the process.
“Right now, our goal is to repeal this cabaret law and put something in place that is going to focus more on the definition of who can do what and specify clearly the rules and parameters of the city’s expectations for businesses,” Adams tells me. “It’s to simplify the application, making sure the process isn’t a hindrance to business owners.”
He further stressed the need for clarity with regards to enforcement and the need to take away any room for bias. Adams added that since the incident at The Larkin Hifi, the amount of coverage they’ve been getting on the issue has been a great help, going a long way toward making people realize that outdated laws need to be changed in order to keep up with the times.
Jack Flynn reached out to Adams as a result of his own constituents reaching out to him with complaints about the law. “The first thing we thought of was to repeal it because there are so many issues with the legislation when it comes to racism, when it comes to process, when it comes to who gets a cabaret license, and so many other things.”
The original plan was to repeal it and start completely fresh. Then, last week, they began to communicate with the Mayor’s office. Both sides are currently discussing whether to repeal or amend the current statute, in agreement that a change is necessary.
“There needs to be change: the Mayor’s office, our counsel – we all agree on that. The business owners agree on that.” Flynn continued. “Even the renters believe there needs to be change. Even people who are [in favor of the law] believe there needs to be change in the way it’s worked out.”
How it will be sorted out remains to be seen. However, if you find yourself passionate about the future of live entertainment in the city of Albany, you will have your chance to be heard. The next discussions for the future of the cabaret law will be held at the Planning meeting on Monday, October 28th at City Hall, and you can attend and listen. Planning Board meetings typically begin at 3:30 PM, and public comment is allowed before the meeting starts.
