Boathouse Restaurant Threatens To Sue Ossining Over Cabaret License

OSSINING, NY — The proprietors of the popular Boathouse restaurant on the Hudson River are angry about the length of time it has taken this year to get a cabaret license so they can offer live music on the weekends.

"The only citations we have received this year were this past weekend after we were basically threatened not to have our entertainment," restaurant manager Lisa Polidoro told Patch. "We were cited for not having a cabaret license despite having applied months earlier. In past years we have routinely been granted a cabaret and have never had any issues or problems at our establishment."

The Boathouse restaurant, a family-owned restaurant on a pier at the waterfront, has been in operation since 2007. In 2014, the restaurant installed a seasonal outdoor bar. It has annually, and without problems, provided live musical entertainment on the weekends, Polidoro said.

However, though this year the restaurant filed its annual application to allow seasonal outdoor music in March, as of Aug. 4 it had still not received one, she said.

The Polidoros said the reason for the delay is the village’s erroneous interpretation of the scope of the restaurant’s liquor license. That required the owners to obtain copies of records from the State Liquor Authority this year, they said. The issue had not come up in prior years, and they did not understand why village officials sought to review that information now.

"The Village does not have the authority to enforce liquor licenses, so this was truly an unnecessary delay. It does not seem fair that the Village can ask for new information which is not required by the permit application and which has never been requested in the past," Vitale Polidoro said. "As a seasonal business, we have to make enough money in the summer months to get through the long winter when there are no boaters and no outdoor dining. At this point our season is almost over. This is no way to treat long-time residents and business owners."

Now the company, Up the River Restaurants, Inc., has filed an article 78 proceeding against the village, notification that it intends to sue over the delay, Lisa Polidoro said.

The Ossining village Board of Trustees will discuss the restaurant's application at its upcoming meeting, Ossining Mayor Rika Levin told Patch on Tuesday. "I am a big fan of the Boathouse myself, but like everyone else, they need to have their paperwork in order."

The meeting starts at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Municipal Building.