The next time you’re bellied up to your favorite bar or waiting at the corner for the next taxicab, take a minute to ruminate on how their owners might have spent well over a hundred thousand dollars just to operate.
In a rare occurrence, the city in the past two weeks has auctioned off five taxi medallions and a liquor license. Obtaining either a liquor license or a taxi medallion has become next to impossible in recent years, so when they have been available, the cost has soared out of sight.
First since WWII
A taxi medallion is a permit to drive a cab, and there is one assigned to each cab in the city. No cab can operate without this piece of metal in the window.
There is a fixed number of medallions. For the last six decades, that number has been set at 43. The only way in the past to obtain a medallion was through a private sale.
Today, most of the medallions in Hoboken have fallen into the hands of only a few individuals, who in turn rent them out for a daily or monthly fee.
The last time the city expanded the number of medallions was right after World War II, said Mayor David Roberts.
“The auction is a direct response to numerous requests by residents to expand the taxi fleet,” said Roberts in a prepared statement. “The additional cabs should reduce the waiting time for residents and visitors at the PATH, as well as better serve individuals citywide.”
The five new licenses expanded the city’s cab fleet to 48.
There were over 25 individuals attending the auction, conducted in the City Council Chambers on Friday, Jan. 30.
The auction of the five medallions generated a total of $630,000 to the city’s treasury, with winning bids ranging from $120,000 to $137,500.
The minimum bid was $40,000 per license.
Booze is expensive also
Like the taxi medallion, the number of liquor licenses in Hoboken has remained stable for many years.
According to city officials, there are currently 138 issued liquor licenses in Hoboken. Of those, 27 are for liquor stores, 95 are for restaurants or bars, eight are social clubs, and nine are for “broad retail,” which are bars or restaurants where patrons can drink in the establishment or buy liquor to take home.
Because the city isn’t issuing new licenses, there are only a few ways to obtain a license. One way is through a private sale, which can cost anywhere from $80,000 to $200,000. If the owner of a license can’t pay his taxes, the license is auctioned off to pay the state.
That is what happed Tuesday. The owner of Ricco’s, the now-closed restaurant at 1024 Washington St., has unpaid taxes, so the state Department of Taxation put his liquor license up for auction. The state collected the debt that it is owed, and the owner of the license is able to keep the rest, according to treasury officials.
The last time a liquor license was auctioned off was 1996, when the winning bidder paid $80,000.
Tuesday, Mario Steriti, the owner of The Bar at 10th and Willow streets, won the license with a final bid of $160,000. The license is transferable and Steriti has until June 2006 to assign it to a property in Hoboken, according to city officials.
Steriti said if managed shrewdly, the purchase of a liquor license can be a lucrative investment.
“It’s a really good time to invest in Hoboken,” said Steriti.
He added that it’s to early to know where the license will be used, but the waterfront and the city’s emerging west side are two possible options.