ALBANY, N.Y. - Monday night, Albany bar owners demanded answers from the City, asking why the recent Cabaret Law includes some restrictions that were not there when the law was originally passed.
More than 100 people showed up to protest the Cabaret Law that went into effect this past March. The protest began at Townsend Park Monday, following a march to Albany City Hall.
The Cabaret Law will require any business that wants to have live entertainment to buy a
license from the city, ranging from $150 to $500 if the establishments
serve alcohol, and $50 for ones that don't.
Also live entertainment must stop by midnight on weekdays and 2 a.m. on weekends. Also with the law, people under the age of 21 must be out of the venue by 11 p.m. Bar owners say not only did they not know about this stipulation and they fear it could drastically hurt business.
Protestors say people planning a night of drinking and dancing will go elsewhere with this law in place.
People living among the bars say nothing good happens after two in the morning, and it is a good time to put a stop to the music.
"You have people breaking bottles, trespassing on their property, screaming, making loud noise and pealing out drunk going home," one neighbor said. "That is not something a neighbor should have on any kind of regular basis."
The city says these permits are not set in stone and businesses have the right to appeal. "You can go to the Board of Zoning Appeals and say 'hey look, I want to go to 4 a.m.' and if you provide reasons, why I'm sure the Board will hear that appeal and look at all the factors and balance it and make their decision accordingly."
The Common Council said they will take the public's recommendations into account and hold a meeting at some point in the future to see if any changes should be made to the law.
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