McCarren Hotel Shouldn't Have Rooftop Liquor License, CB Says

WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN — Community Board members trying to get a handle on the McCarren Hotel's long history of loud summer parties shot down the hotel's latest attempt to expand its rooftop pool bar.

Community Board 1 voted against the hotel's application to renew its liquor license in their monthly meeting last week. The application included adding more tables and chairs to the rooftop hangout spot, which has long been the source of noise complaints from residents living near the hotel.

The McCarren was recently found to be the second loudest hotel in the city, in part because of the poolside bar.

Board members had mulled the liquor license application the past few months, hoping that new management put in place last summer would help the problem. But after the hotel said it couldn't meet the board's request to reduce its hours, members ultimately decided not to support the renewal.

"It's had a multitude of owners and a multitude of problems," said, Thomas Burrows, chair of Community Board 1's State Liquor Authority review subcommittee. "They sent a letter to the board saying they could not agree to reduce the hours of this rooftop space. They are not willing to agree to our request so we're giving a denial recommendation on that one."

Burrows said the subcommittee had asked the McCarren to stay open until 2 a.m. on weekends instead of 4 a.m. and 12 a.m. instead of 1 a.m. on weekdays. The subcommittee also wanted the hotel to sign on to its guidelines about outdoor use.

The hotel told members that it would only have a DJ inside, not outdoors, but it couldn't comply with the requests.

The ultimate decision on the liquor license application will be decided by the State Liquor Authority.

The McCarren Hotel has had as many as 600 noise complaints in one summer, Burrows said. That number was brought down to only seven complaints last season, though, largely because of the new management team, he said.

Its rating as New York City's second noisiest bar, found in a report by researchers at Localize.city, measured 311 complaints between July 2017 and July 2018. The McCarren had 40 complaints during this period, topped only by Midtown's Dream Hotel, which had 69 complaints.

The data shows that throughout the entire 12-month period, there were 22 days when people complained last year at the McCarren. The study also recognized that the issue seems to be the 4,800-square-foot rooftop pool and bar.