into a traditional jazz club. All plans seemed to be proceeding smoothly until the couple met their first obstacle–obtaining a liquor license.
The Long Battle Begins
In 2004 Community Board 2’s Business Committee welcomed Lola into the neighborhood with a unanimous vote recommending that the New York State Liquor Authority approve a full liquor license for the restaurant. However, later that month at the full board meeting, the restaurateurs saw their request to have the Community Board recommend approval for a liquor license was unanimously opposed.
“I think she really got a really raw deal,†says Bob Rinaolo, the chair of the business committee at the time. “Usually the full board is nothing more than a rubber stamp of the business committee because the committee does the interviewing. But Sweeney and his little band of Indians were at the full board meeting. … It basically centered on Sweeney, who is a racist, and Marie Evans,†a real estate broker whose apartment is approximately 20 feet from Lola’s side courtyard. Others who were on the business committee at the time argue that race was not a factor.
Between the business committee and full board meetings, Patrick-Odeen says she enjoyed a very welcoming telephone conversation with Sweeney. But Evans was clear about her disapproval: “I don’t want you here,†she said during a call to Patrick-Odeen. “I don’t know who you think you are bringing this business into my backyard. I’m going to make sure you’re never successful. … If I were you I would pack my bags and leave.â€
Evans, did not return phone calls or e-mails requesting comment on the matter and has not been quoted in the media about this issue. She and her husband, John, have appeared at hearings on behalf of the SoHo Alliance to speak out against the restaurant.
A variety of businesses have occupied the bottom floor of the six-story building, which had been zoned for manufacturing then commercial, before Lola moved in. Chaos, a nightclub, once occupied the second floor, and memories of loud late-night partying still haunt the neighbors and were brought up as reasons to oppose Lola.
The day following her phone conversation with Evans and Sweeney, Patrick-Odeen arrived in SoHo to find neon green fliers scattered throughout the neighborhood. The fliers read “SOHO RESIDENTS BEWARE!!!!!!! Help Preserve the Community†and announced Lola’s desire for a liquor license. Stating that there were already 17 bars in 1 ½ blocks, it urged residents to come to Community Board 2’s full board meeting and implied that those who didn’t appear were in favor of “diminishing property values†and “more crime.â€
Patrick-Odeen was accused of reneging on promises made at the business committee meeting, according to those in attendance. Minutes from that meeting, state that Patrick-Odeen agreed to put her plans for an outdoor seating area on hold for three years, to use front windows that do not open onto the street in order to contain the music, and to close at midnight instead of 4 a.m., which was the closing time