SIDEWALK-CAFÉ PERMIT RENEWAL: PETRARCA (34 WHITE)
Petrarca‘s sidewalk café renewal was approved last month even though no one from the restaurant showed up, so the restaurant was asked to send a rep this time in case anyone had questions. No one did.

SIDEWALK-CAFÉ PERMIT RENEWAL: CITY HALL RESTAURANT (131 DUANE)
Since nothing about the sidewalk seating is changing, City Hall asked whether they could skip the meeting, and the answer was yes. You can imagine the person from Petrarca must have found this somewhat confusing. Vote: 6-0.

STREET-ACTIVITY PERMIT: FRIENDS OF DUANE PARK
Friends of Duane Park is planning on its third-ever Summer Swing dance party on Wednesday, June 19, from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., on the part of Duane that’s north of the park. The vent is free, and no RSVP is required. There will be recorded music and an instructor with a lavalier microphone who will teach people the basic steps. One member asked whether there was a rain date, to which the answer was no, because it would require hacking through twice as much red tape. “But what if it rains?” asked another member. “They’ll be swinging in the rain,” answered a third member, for the win. Vote: 7-0.

NEW YORK ACADEMY OF ART: PRESENTATION
Elvin Freytes, the New York Academy of Art‘s director of student affairs, was surprised that people in the room knew the school existed, and then he offered students’ help in community projects.

CODIFICATION OF COMMITTEE STANDARDS FOR LICENSES
The committee hopes to establish guidelines about what it finds acceptable vis-à-vis liquor-license applications—in particular, regarding closing hours, sidewalk cafés, and how late windows may stay open. There was much discussion about whether side streets deserve stricter treatment than avenues: Is there an expectation of quiet on avenues? Does noise have more impact on side streets? Are side streets more residential? What about the children? It seemed like the committee was slouching toward recommended closing hours of midnight on weekdays (Sunday-Thursday) and 1 a.m. on weekends (Friday-Saturday) for side streets, and an hour later for avenues (by which it means any north-south street, except, presumably, Staple, Collister, Cortlandt, etc.). As for the windows, it was pointed out that restaurants aren’t allowed to have windows open and air-conditioning running, which means there are few nights where this is likely to be an issue. It was also noted that any restaurant with a sidewalk café was going to have windows open, in essence. I left when it became clear that enforcement was unlikely and, in any event, the committee was reserving the right to carve out exceptions. (Note to committee members: The restaurant on Murray with the open window is not Woodrow’s. It’s the Cricketers Arms.)