When the owner of a new café in Hoboken received permission from the Zoning Office last September to also use the facility as an event space, she never realized she would later be told that her events must be public.
Karen Nason, a Hoboken resident for six years who already owns Hot House Pizza on Second Street, says she invested roughly $60,000 to open the second business in 2015. FUSE, which opened in November at 256 Newark St. near Willow Avenue, is a café/event space for locals to host bridal showers, birthday parties, and other types of events.
Nason asked the Zoning Office for approval to have events for as many as 25 patrons. Her Certificate of Occupancy, dated Sept. 9, 2015, defines the business as a “take out café/event space.”
But in late November, Nason received a cease-and-desist letter from the city that said neighbors had complained about noise. When she followed up with the city that month, she was told that she can only host public events, rather than private events.
In December, police and fire officials responded to a private Christmas party thrown by a real estate company at the café. Nason says she was not there, but her staff later told her that the police responded to noise complaints. The staff assured the police they’d keep the noise level down, and the police left.
“It’s not illegal; we don’t have a drug den.” – Karen Nason
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The letter also says that the aforementioned Christmas party had close to 40 people.
Holtzman also wrote that there are other businesses in the city “approved for assembly that is accessory to their business” like Little City Books being allowed to host book readings and signings.
Holtzman further wrote that the city had allowed Nason to amend her business application in order to host events “with the added stipulation that the retail use and occupancy did not extend to the rear yard, which is a common element for the tenants of the adjoining commercial building.”
While Nason acknowledged that the police responded to noise complaints in December, she said the issue about not being allowed to host private parties anymore is nonsensical.
That issue seems to come down to language that is missing or nebulous in the city’s zoning ordinance.
Mayor Dawn Zimmer sent Nason a letter personally on May 2 (obtained by the Reporter) clarifying that Nason is “permitted to hold certain events at or under your capacity, provided that you do not close your business to other patrons” – which in Nason’s eyes defeats some of the purpose of her event space.
The letter tells Nason that she may go before the Planning Board to seek a variance to host private events. Nason said that this was never mentioned during the application process last fall.
Zimmer said on Thursday, “FUSE is a great business, but everyone has to follow the same rules, and after receiving complaints from neighbors, we had an obligation to look into whether they were operating as permitted. Our zoning laws are in place to balance the interests of businesses and the quality of life of neighborhoods, and we need to enforce those laws fairly.”
Councilman Michael DeFusco of the 1st Ward, where FUSE is located, acknowledged last week that the retail cafe “is a legally zoned cafe which markets itself as a place you could hold birthday parties and corporate events, similar to a bar or restaurant closing down for a private event.” But DeFusco, who has served on the Zoning Board in the past, added that the enforcement by the city – in telling Nason her event space is not permitted in the R-1 zone it’s located in – is correct due to a “caveat.”
“There is no definition of event space in our current zoning law, and if a use is not expressly permitted, it’s prohibited,” he said.
Nason said that explanation doesn’t hold water.
“Being able to host private events is a benefit for the entire public,” she said. “It’s not illegal; we don’t have a drug den. This is a family-style social event space” that promotes a family atmosphere, she noted.
Variance would be expensive
Nason says that after getting the letters from the city around the end of the year, she was forced to refund approximately $38,000 to customers she had booked for events ahead of time or possibly face legal penalties.
Zimmer says the city’s legal team has determined that Nason needs to apply to the Hoboken Planning Board for a “conditional use variance.”
But Nason says she refuses to go before the board. “Everyone knows if you go before the Planning Board it will cost you a boatload of money,” she said. “I have done charity events for the city. When the Hoboken High School football team won the championship, we threw a party to congratulate them on their win [at Hot House]. Why attack a small business [owner] that does nothing but good for this city?”
Business owners have complained over the last few years about the labyrinthine process to get zoning or planning approval in Hoboken, and about not getting enough information early in the process. Nason believes clarifying cloudy areas in the zoning laws should financially fall upon the shoulders of the city, not the business owners. She says she knows of other establishments in the city similar to hers that host private events closed to the public.
The mayor herself, Nason said, attended FUSE’s grand opening event in November, which was billed as a private event by invitation only.
Zimmer responded, “I don’t check with the construction office or zoning officer before I attend an event, but what would be corrupt would be for me to call up our enforcement officials, say ‘I’m a friend of so-and-so,’ and ask them not to enforce the law.”
Nason says she’s strongly considering filing a class action lawsuit. This type of legal action takes place when a group of people with the same or similar case sues the defendant as a group.
In the meantime, she plans to rent out FUSE as a retail pop-up store. Holtzman, the city’s zoning officer, did not respond to calls or emails last week as to what types of monetary penalties Nason would face if caught hosting a private event.
Part of a bigger problem
Councilman DeFusco calls FUSE’s dilemma a symptom of a larger issue. The current zoning code outlines limits over where a new business can open and limits hours of operation, but fails to reference new contemporary business models like pop-up stores and event spaces.
“Our zoning laws are dated and fail to address the needs of a dynamic modern city,” said DeFusco, who has been vocal about updating the city’s zoning code since being elected to the City Council last November. “Our zoning [for instance] doesn’t incentivize corner stores throughout town, which would permit businesses who can’t afford Washington Street a chance to flourish. Even streets like First and 14th, which are often considered retail rows, aren’t zoned to incentivize ground floor commercial uses.”
DeFusco says he’s currently working with Holtzman and the council’s Zoning Subcommittee to flesh out a definition that can be added to the zoning book to clarify a situation like Nason’s.