Disgruntled NYC Attorney Declares War On Bottomless Brunch

EAST VILLAGE, NY — Robert Neal Halpern, 62, a longtime East Village resident and local attorney fed up with the "thousands of mostly young people" (including some 8,000 NYU students) who increasingly flock to his hood for a "nightly revel" or "weekend tryst," sued the New York State Liquor Authority this week for allegedly looking the other way while NYC restaurants openly advertise all-you-can-drink "bottomless brunch" deals — and, as promised, end up filling brunchers' cups with an unlimited stream of booze.

The list of sample offenders in Halpern's lawsuit is a veritable who's-who of trendy Village brunch spots:

The Blind Pig. Cafe Mocha. Cloister Cafe. Copper Still. Fonda. The Grayson. Jeepney. Jules Bistro. Miss Lily's. Pardon My French. San Marzano. Sidewalk Cafe. Three of Cups. Timna. Villa Cemita. Yerba Buena.

Want more local news? Sign up here for free newsletters and alerts from the East Village Patch. Don't live in the East Village? Find your NYC neighborhood here.

"It's a question of us becoming a drinking neighborhood," Halpern argues in his suit. "To me that's not the primary purpose of the East Village — to serve as a receptacle for people to come and drink day and night."

He adds: "I'm hearing more noise. The streets are more crowded. It's just less pleasant to live here."

Since 2013, the state's rate of issuing new on-premise liquor licenses in the East Village has more than tripled, Halpern claims, citing government data.

There are currently upward of 450 businesses in the neighborhood serving alcohol, he says.

And the 30-year East Village resident only expects the situation to get worse, now that boozy brunch is allowed to kick off as early as 10 a.m. on Sundays in NYC.

Halpern's lawsuit hinges on a state law that explicitly prohibits serving "an unlimited number of drinks during any set period of time for a fixed price." With the exception, that is, of private parties — weddings, banquets. etc. — and one-off events, functions and deals like "New Year's Eve packages costing more than $100." (Who knew!)

In a statement issued to the press this week, the State Liquor Authority denied turning a blind eye to bottomless brunch in NYC. Any bar or restaurant serving unlimited drinks is "aggressively investigated and prosecuted,' the authority said.

State liquor officials did sort of admit, though, in 2014, that they had been allowing businesses to serve "specials where alcohol is an accompaniment," as long as their marketing campaigns didn't "promote excessive drinking," according to the New York Daily News.

Halpern is now demanding in court that the Liquor Authority solidify its anti-bottomless brunch policy and enforce it accordingly.

So assemble all your favorite alcoholics and get day-bliterated while you still can, New York.

Pictured at top: Poco's bottomless brunch deal back in 2009, when it was only 20 bucks. Photo by Danielle Scott/Flickr