DISCUSSION OF ONE-WAY TOLLS ON VERRAZANO-NARROWS BRIDGE
A rep from Representative Nadler’s office explained that Nadler is pushing hard to get two-way tolls instituted on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. The toll is currently westbound only, from Brooklyn into Staten Island, and it’s $11; consequently, many drivers come through Manhattan—via the Manhattan Bridge and Canal Street—to avoid paying it. (The new tolls would be $5.50 each way, and any toll gates would be of the high-speed variety.) The history is that Al D’Amato and Guy Molinari got the one-way-toll-only written into a federal law—it’s unheard of for a local issue to be dictated by federal law—and with Republican control of Congress, no one could get it overturned; plus, any new law would have to be attached to a transportation bill, and they don’t come up that often. The stars have aligned, at least until the midterm elections, so if the issue of raising transportation revenue can get ironed out, the future for two-way tolls looks good. At least that’s how I understood it.

325 CHURCH (SALUGGI’S): APPLICATION FOR AN UNENCLOSED SIDEWALK CAFÉ
The owner of Saluggi’s—who also owns Nancy Whiskey Pub at Lispenard and West Broadway—wants to put three tables outside his restaurant. Everyone agreed that the block (Church between Canal and Lispenard) could use some civilizing, but the crowdedness of the block was a concern. Ultimately, the possible presence of a parking meter (no one was sure whether one exists there) and the possibility that the tables would be too close to it (no one was sure whether the law considered meters as street furniture) reduced the approved number of tables to two. The hours that Saluggi’s can serve people at them will be 11 p.m. on weekdays and midnight on weekends.

DISCUSSION WITH PACE UNIVERSITY OF RESOLVING NEIGHBORHOOD BAR ISSUES
Eric Morrissey, Pace’s assistant director of government and community relations, explained that the university’s security guards have been making twice-monthly visits to three local bars—20/20, Brick, and Biddy Early’s—to see if they recognize any Pace students and check their IDs. They found none at 20/20 or Brick (which to my knowledge were never in the Pace-student category, so that was no surprise), but there were some at Biddy Early’s. The housing dean is then notified, as are the police and the State Liquor Authority. The committee seemed satisfied with this; and while one might have expected someone to raise the question of civil liberties—private security forces are entering other people’s property and demanding ID?—nobody did.

EASTERN ATHLETIC CLUBS: EXTENSION OF TERM OF BSA SPECIAL PERMIT
I still don’t know what a BSA permit is—if I Google it, I get a lot about the bigoted Boy Scouts of America—but this was uncontroversial and quickly approved.

71–73 WEST BROADWAY (MANGEZ AVEC MOI): APPLICATION FOR WINE AND BEER LICENSE
Laid over at the applicant’s request.

159 DUANE: APPLICATION FOR LIQUOR LICENSE
Al and Vanessa Merrin, Tribeca residents since 1987 (they currently live on Reade) want to turn what was most recently the Blue Bench store into a restaurant that’s somewhere between Edward’s and Bouley’s Upstairs, with “artisanal, local, gourmet comfort food.” Their goal is for the place to be a “hub for Tribeca,” the way Bouley Bakery was. (They also referenced Marlow & Sons in Williamsburg as inspiration.) The yet-to-be-named restaurant would serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner, starting at 7:30 a.m. They agreed to closing hours of 1 a.m. on weeknights and 2 a.m. on weekends—they want to serve people in the restaurant industry when they’re done with their shifts—and the application was approved, 6-1. (After the hearing, I went into the hallway to introduce myself to Al, who is the recently retired vice chairman and executive creative director of BBDO New York. I ran back in to listen to the next item on the agenda, and Julie Shapiro of DNAinfo learned that the Merrins haven’t signed a lease yet.)

365 GREENWICH: APPLICATION FOR LIQUOR LICENSE
Nicholas McKeon, who worked at Fitz’s Pig-N-Whistle when he was a kid, wants to open something akin to Walker’s there, “cleaning it up and making it nicer.” Part of the space would still be a bar, with maybe four TVs, and the restaurant menu would be American-bar-and-grill, with “reasonable” prices. (No name yet.) McKeon agreed to midnight on weeknights and 2 a.m. on weekends, and the vote was 7–0 in favor.

APPLICATION FOR NEWSSTAND AT SOUTHWEST CORNER OF N. MOORE AND WEST BROADWAY
There was much concern that the sidewalk would be blocked—the prevalence of dog owners and stroller-pushers was mentioned several times—but the application said there was 18 feet between the street and the building. With the understanding that some other committee has to approve it on aesthetic grounds, the committee carried the motion 4-2-1. (After voting, one member announced he wanted to retract his yes vote, but when it was pointed out that the motion wouldn’t pass as a result, he changed his mind.)

MISC.
After the official agenda was taken care of, one member inquired whether the food cart outside Plein Sud, on Chambers, is allowed to be there 24 hours a day, and also whether there was any way to avoid being fed misinformation the way the board believes it was in regard to the grandfathering of the enclosed sidewalk café at 109 West Broadway (formerly Delphi). No clear outcome.