The fate of Feelgood Restaurant and Lounge still hangs in the balance after an abbreviated Alcohol and Beverage Control (ABC) Board meeting Monday failed to resolve any of the issues residents say they have with the business. Thirty-five to 40 residents turned out for the meeting, which had initially been planned as a disciplinary hearing to determine whether Feelgood’s liquor license would be suspended or renewed.
For more than a year, Feelgood – which triples as a restaurant, catering hall, and nightclub – has been the subject of complaints from some residents. They have told the four-member ABC board and the Secaucus Town Council that Feelgood’s weekend patrons are noisy, that patrons park on residential streets because there is too little parking in the Plaza area where Feelgood is located, and that customers are sometimes rude and destructive to private property. In addition, local police have occasionally been called to the establishment to deal with fights and other problems.
After hearing several complaints last year, the ABC board temporarily suspended Feelgood’s liquor license. However, they renewed the license in June of 2008 after owner Caesar Sanchez offered to set a new dress code and restrict patrons’ age to mid-twenties on Saturday nights, when Feelgood hosts promoter-sponsored parties for young people.
But according to residents, problems have persisted. Now, Sanchez is again facing the temporary or permanent loss of his liquor license, which is up for renewal next month.
Hearing postponed
Last week, Sanchez hoped he would be able to demonstrate to the ABC board that he has made a huge effort to address the problems and concerns and should be allowed to keep his license. Residents, meanwhile, were hoping for a resolution to the problems they have mentioned.
Residents can speak out at the next meeting.
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When the attorneys returned, Jimenez announced that, due to concerns that Gonzalez had raised in their private meeting, the hearing would be postponed to another date.
Residents speak out
With the official disciplinary hearing put on hold, Jimenez told residents that if they want to give formal testimony on problems they believe stem from Feelgood, they can return to the next ABC hearing on Feelgood. However, recognizing that many residents showed up at the May 4 meeting to comment, he recommended that residents who wanted to speak be given the opportunity to do so, and the board approved.
Ed Zloty, who lives two blocks away from Feelgood, was among three residents who spoke up.
“We’ve had people urinating on our lawn, urinating on buildings,” he said. “They leave trash and litter on people’s property. We have these people coming from other places and they’re ruining our quality of life. The town is changing and it has been changing ever since this Feelgood opened in the center of town. We may have the same number of crimes in Secaucus as we used to, but the types of crimes we have now are different, and it’s because of these people [Sanchez] is bringing in here.”
Anthony Aiello, who lives on Golden Avenue and who has often spoken about Feelgood at ABC hearings and Town Council meetings, also commented.
“Last weekend for the first time in several weeks, I was not awakened on Saturday night,” Aiello said. “I’ve noticed that when there are policemen on foot patrol it makes a big difference. We’ve got to have police presence on foot. They can’t be in their cars just circling the block because then they don’t really see and hear everything that’s going on.”
Aiello said one night recently a Feelgood patron was parked across the street from his house and “had his radio up full blast.” But he believes that closing the restaurant or taking away Sanchez’s liquor license would be a “draconian” measure.
He emphasized that continuous police presence on Saturdays, Feelgood’s busiest night, is important if the business and residents are going to peacefully co-exist.
E-mail E. Assata Wright at awright@hudsonreporter.com.