Week after starting petition blasting Andrew Cuomo, a New York bar owner's liquor license is suspended

A New York City bar says it had its liquor license suspended a week after starting a petition criticizing Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s new restriction on what drinking establishments are allowed to serve.

Abby Ehmann, owner of Manhattan’s East Village dive bar Lucky, says her liquor license was suspended after she started a petition calling on Cuomo to rescind his new rule requiring bars to serve a substantial amount of food with drink purchases and also says she only received one warning from local officials, according to Eater New York.

Ehmann says that she was visited Monday night by two representatives from the State Liquor Authority at around 8 p.m., and they observed the bar’s eight customers to see if they ordered food with their drinks. She received a warning after the visit that she says was simply a piece of paper not listing any specific violations.

Shortly after that, Ehmann’s liquor license was suspended.

“No other safety measures were inspected or questioned,” Ehmann told Eater New York in an email. “Also, no other bars or restaurants in close proximity to mine received this inspection, causing me to believe that I was intentionally targeted for selective enforcement by the Governor and State Liquor Authority.”

The SLA provided a ... (Read more)

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