Dissed Jockey
Civic gurus shoot down Flatbush restaurant’s DJ scheme
BY JESSICA PARKS
State liquor honchos must
block a restaurateur’s plan to
host a disc jockey at her East
Flatbush tavern, according to
local community board members,
who claim installing a
turn table at the watering hole
would spell “chaos” for nearby
homeowners.
“The community has been
very forceful in saying no,” said
Community Board 18 District
Manager Dorothy Torano at
the board’s full monthly meeting
on Wednesday.
Halsey’s Bar and Grill owner
Arlene McLaurin asked the
community board to bless her
application with the State Liquor
Authority for permits allowing
a disc-jockey to preform
at her Avenue H lounge between
E. 45th Street and Troy Avenue.
McLaurin even told the
board she doesn’t really want
or need a disc jockey — it’s the
freedom to have a disc jockey
she’s after.
“It’s not that I need a DJ every
single night,” said McLaurin.
“I would like to operate my
business without the outside infl
uence. If I wanted to have a DJ,
I would want to be within compliance.”
COURIER L 16 IFE, OCTOBER 25-31, 2019
Members of the board —
which encompasses Canarsie,
Bergen Beach, Mill Basin, Marine
Park, Flatlands, and parts
of Flatbush — were unconvinced.
One of the restaurant’s
neighbors foretold of the racket
that would plague nearby residents
if a disc jockey moved in
next door — and the lack of law
enforcement when they inevitably
complain about it.
“The 63rd Precinct does not
react as quickly as we want it
to,” said Johnny Arcentales.
“We don’t want that.”
The board’s objects were
echoed by local Councilwoman
Farah Louis and Assemblywoman
Helene Weinstein, who
both voiced their opposition to
McLaurin’s musical ambitions.
But the board didn’t send
McLaurin away empty handed,
and members voted to endorse
her request to remain open for
an extra hour each night — until
2 am on weekdays and 3 am
on weekends.
“We don’t have any problem
with them operating there, all
we want to do is keep it the way
it was,” said Troy Thompson.
“Most of us agreed it could go
up one hour.”
Arlene McLaurin asked the board to allow her to host a DJ at Halsey’s Bar
and Grill. Photo by Jessica Parks
Southern Brooklyn civic leaders
rejected a proposal to allow a DJ
to preform at Halsey’s Bar and Grill
in East Flatbush. Google Maps
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