HOBOKEN– Approximately 30 residents, business owners, and council members turned out at a Hoboken council meeting on Monday to discuss a possible repeal of the town’s 500-foot rule, which states that no establishment with a liquor license can open within 500 feet of another establishment with a liquor license. Last month the council introduced the possibility of amending the ordinance by deleting the rule.
Members of the community expressed either concern or support for the change.
Some members of the community including Michael Gallucci, owner of the Green Rock and Grand Vin, cited issues such as high rents and feeling trapped in his lease as a few reason as to why he feels the law should be repealed.
Other members, such as Eugene Flinn, the owner of Amanda’s, Elysian Cafe, and Schnackenberg’s, expressed concern that business owners with liquor licenses might flock to already concentrated areas of bars and restaurants downtown and on Washington Street.
All council members expressed their desire to hear more public feedback on the rule.
For more on the meeting, read the upcoming edition of the Hoboken Reporter this weekend, Oct 2.
The council may consider the repeal as early as a meeting next week.
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