Subway Inn Waits For Liquor License Since June, Still Paying Rent

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Longtime bar Subway Inn has found that a 50-foot move actually meant a six-month closure.

The historic bar, once voted as a "most authentic" bar in America, moved locations down the block from its home at 1140 Second Ave., shortly after the building owner filed demolition plans with the city.

And because liquor licenses are tied to the location and not to the business, that meant the revered watering hole had to reapply for a new liquor license, and even went through the community board approval process despite not changing blocks — or even landlords.

That process, despite a couple of Community Board sticklers, went quickly and the board ultimately supported their application.

But the hang-up, the bar says, is a totally broken New York State Liquor Authority.

"A system that once took less than two weeks to process (pre-covid), has now taken a turn for the worst, ranging from 8 to 12 months (post-covid)," the bar wrote on its Facebook page last month.

When asked why it's taking so long, the state told the bar "COVID," according to the post.

"Enough is enough," the Subway Inn wrote. "How long can you ride the COVID train for?"

The bar claims that despite everyone, including themselves, making adjustments to a COVID world, "two years later, things have gotten worse" at the state agency, they claim.

"The system that we give so much money to, the system that we respectfully abide by, the system that we entrust to lead us in the right direction, has been 'completely abandoned,'" the bar wrote. A message left with the agency went unanswered.

According to the NYSLA website, the agency received its renewal application on July 8 2022. and that the pending license was sent to the board for action at the end of January.

Because of the extreme delay, staff were placed on furlough and the bar continued to dutifully pay its rent, causing workers and the family owners to burn through savings.

"We believed in a system that has brought nothing but stress, heartache, depression, sadness, and much more," the bar wrote. "And still no answer to when we will receive our license."