Barbershop described as a neighborhood “nuisance” denied pool table license

A Madison Avenue barbershop with more than a dozen police calls for loud music was denied a pool license on Tuesday evening.

Finest Cuts, located on 547 Madison Avenue, generated 20 police calls for service between June 1st, 2013 and March 27, 2015, according to a memorandum from the city’s license inspector Ralph Gambatese. 19 of the calls were for loud music and one for gang, read the memo.

The barbershop’s owner Geovanny Fernandez was cited twice for having a pool table without the requisite licenses from the city. In fact, just after he pled guilty to having a pool table in violation of the city’s ordinance on February 20th, 2015, he was caught operating it again. Fernandez has a municipal court date scheduled for April 24th, 2015 for his second violation.

“This person has the audacity to come to the city to apply for a permit to have a pool table in a barbershop for which he’s already been cited and is in court and has a court date post our meeting. Why we’d even consider that is beyond me,” said William McKoy, 3rd Ward councilman.

The location also lacks a certificate of occupancy (CO), said McKoy reading from Gambatese’s memo.

McKoy urged the administration to send inspectors to the location he described as a “nuisance to the community” tomorrow morning to shut it down for operating without a CO.

A CO is issued after a building has been deemed safe, absent that, the public is placed at risk, said McKoy.

McKoy said the night before, as he was driving pass the location, he witnessed individuals with bottles inside brown paper bags hanging about the barbershop.

“In no way should we give a license to someone who is willing to break the law both in not having a CO and operating illegally,” said McKoy. Fernandez, who was present during the meeting, said the building in which his business operates does have a CO.

Maritza Davila, councilwoman at-large, found it strange that a barbershop would place a pool table in its premises. She compared it to a Burger King restaurant setting up a pool table inside.

Kenneth Morris, councilman at-large, said there are barbershops that have pool tables inside. He said the city cannot restrict commerce. “As folks are waiting to receive their primary service they have this other activity,” said Morris.

Morris agreed with other council members on denying the barbershop a pool license mostly due to quality of life concerns. A resident who resides near the barbershop has complained to the council for more than a year about loud music and large quantities of liquor bottles coming out of the establishment.

Fernandez, who spoke through a translator and does not appear to speak English, said the music at his location has always been “low.” He said he did not understand why that resident would complain about loud music.

“People of that block have been suffering from quality of life issues for a long time,” said Ruby Cotton, 4th Ward councilwoman. She and other council members unanimously votes down a resolution that would have provided Fernandez the license to have a pool table at his barbershop.

http://www.facebook.com/animalabusewar Animal Abuse War

first of all,why was,and still,is he operating without a C.O?that was reason to shut it down on the spot.why isn't the city checking every business & home? this itself is rediculous & illegal.but to allow a nuisance business to operate after so many police calls?how many times do the police have to go there before you do something? they should have gotten a warning the very first call & shut after that.period.there's a reason we have laws.does Paterson think they're special & they don't have to immediately enforce them? this lack of enforcement is why the city is in the shape its in.stop with the ineptitude & start doing your jobs!this includes all the other laws,yes laws,that you don't enforce. littering,recycling,garbage in front of homes, etc-that's why Paterson is a giant filthy dumpster.you don't see other cities looking like this because they immediately enforce the laws & fine offenders.maybe we need an ordinance to immediately fire officials who aren't immediately acting to enforce laws.what's the sense of our taxes paying them if they do nothing?fire them.
- True
  
  You motherfuckers need to worrie about all this fucking shooting going around our city and all the robberies. But instead ya want to bother people that's trying to support their family by making CLEAN money. Smh. This is why our city is a piece of shit. Have no type of good administration
  - http://www.facebook.com/animalabusewar Animal Abuse War
    
    do you consider this a "clean" business? the guy broke the law from the very beginning by opening a business without a C.O.-no C.O.means he didn't give a damn if the building is safe,or if the people in it are being put in harm.second,neighbors have been calling for over a year complaining his blasting music is affecting them, as well as concern for people drinking inside & outside.drinking & drugs (if they do that too) is what brings a neighborhood down.when people get drunk & stupid,they fight. many of those fights could end in shootings &stabbings,because men are no longer men & quickly take out weapons to settle things.
    & places like this is why our city is a mess.residents should be able to live in peace.i don't understand how you think this place is clean,considering he is breaking one law after another.maybe if he learned English, he could read our codes & laws & follow them. it seems he is trying to turn the barbershop into a bar.maybe that's what he should get if that's what he wants.& of he were to operate it like he does this place,he wouldn't stay open there long either.
http://www.facebook.com/animalabusewar Animal Abuse War

to City of Paterson:why do people have to complain for over a year before something is done?other cities send whatever officials are needed asap & force them to follow the law.its not like we don't have an overabundance of officials here,so what exactly ARE THEY DOING?

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