Bar Veloce opens

Permit challenges continue

By LIAM MAYO
Posted 5/17/23

NARROWSBURG, NY — It’s taken some time, but the Bar Veloce location in Narrowsburg now looks to be opening for business. 

The NYC cheese-and-wine bar franchise partnered in 2020 …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Bar Veloce opens

Permit challenges continue

Posted

NARROWSBURG, NY — It’s taken some time, but the Bar Veloce location in Narrowsburg now looks to be opening for business. 

The NYC cheese-and-wine bar franchise partnered in 2020 with Narrowsburg Motor Sales, a three-generation family car dealership. Together, they planned to put a cafe in the former showroom fo the car dealership, located at the entrance to the hamlet of Narrowsburg. 

The Narrowsburg Union, a neighboring mixed-use business, has challenged Bar Veloce multiple times in the past few years, claiming that some of the permits it received were given incorrectly or with issues. Its most recent challenge, a dispute against the structure’s building permit, will be discussed at a zoning board of appeals public hearing on Monday, June 12 at 7 p.m.

The latest challenge likely won’t keep the building from operating, and residents in the Narrowsburg community are anticipating its opening. 

“We’re counting the weeks until we can enjoy an amazing bottle of wine in the tasting room at Bar Veloce in [Narrowsburg],” reads a post on the Facebook page for the Narrowsburg Chamber of Commerce. 

Permitted to build?

The Narrowsburg Union made its case at a May 8 meeting of the Town of Tusten Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA). 

The crux of the case is a building permit issued for the Bar Veloce property on February 2. 

When Bar Veloce first went before the planning board, it got approval to renovate the first floor of the Narrowsburg Motor Sales building. It did not get planning board approval for a rooftop addition—but after the owner talked with town officials, including the head of the planning board and the building inspector, the business went ahead and built one. 

The building permit issued in February covers construction on all three levels of the building—basement, first floor and rooftop—including the addition of bathrooms. It’s invalid for at least nine reasons, claims the Narrowsburg Union, including the rooftop’s lack of planning board approval and unresolved code violations at the property. 

The ZBA cast doubt on some of the Union’s claims. 

“We are talking about a building permit that was issued for water closets, right? You threw in a lot of stuff there that has nothing to do with that,” said ZBA chair Neil Latkowski. 

They’re all connected, said the Union’s lawyer, Ben Gailey. “The zoning code states that no building permit may be issued unless the property is in full compliance with the zoning law.”

“Building permits are a pathway to compliance,” said ZBA member Stephen Stuart: no one can fix a problem if they don’t have a permit to do so.

Michael Davidoff, attorney for Bar Veloce, told the ZBA that the Union hadn’t provided him with information about the challenge in enough time for a response.

Bar Veloce sued the Town of Tusten and the Narrowsburg Union during a previous challenge against the building’s certificate of occupancy, and the judge in that case ruled in favor of Bar Veloce’s request to dismiss. The current challenge was an attempt to get around that ruling, Davidoff said. 

Hearing from the public

The ZBA set a public hearing for its next meeting, 7 p.m. on Monday, June 12. 

“In this situation, I think we should hear what the public thinks about this whole thing,” said Latkowski. 

The crowd present at the night’s meeting made its opinion known—”We want to have a drink there,” someone said in response to Latkowski’s statement. The majority of the packed room applauded Davidoff when he presented on behalf of Bar Veloce. 

Editor's note: An earlier version of this article misspelled Ben Gailey's name. This has been corrected as of Wednesday, June 14, 1:30 p.m..

bar veloce, zoning board, appeals, narrowsburg union, tusten

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here