Long Beach Starbucks' Liquor License Approved

LONG BEACH, NY - The State Liquor Authority approved Starbucks’ application to for a license to serve wine and beer at it’s Long Beach location on Tuesday.

However, many local residents and officials were upset about this decision.

“It is one of the only places for kids to go hang out and do their homework without alcohol, we thought it would be wonderful to keep it that way,” Judi Vining, Executive Director of Long Beach AWARE, a coalition to address the epidemic of underage drinking and other drug use in the Long Beach community, said.

The license allows the coffee shop, located on 101 West Park Avenue, to serve alcohol between 5:30 p.m. and 10 p.m.

“There are at least 90 other places that serve wine and beer [in Long Beach], just across the street from the Starbucks there are at least nine establishments,” Vining said.

In addition to AWARE, the Central Council PTA, the Long Beach City Council, Nassau County Legislator Denise Ford, the Board of Education and Police Commissioner Michael Tangney have all expressed their concern with allowing Starbucks to serve alcohol.

Vining has also said that many have expressed their opposition on Facebook.

Some of the opponents have previously sent letters trying to prevent the State Liquor Authority from approving the application.

“Teenagers are constantly bombarded with negative messages and peer pressure, especially in relation to substance abuse,” local Assemblyman Todd Kaminsky wrote in a letter dated Oct. 27, 2015. “Starbucks is one of the few public establishments in Long Island that is strictly free of alcohol and, as such, provides a safe environment for youths to gather. The image of a student attempting to study physics next to a raucous group of adults drinking beer is a disturbing one.”

The Long Beach City Council also sent a letter to the State Liquor Authority in October 2015.

In the letter, the Council points out that the Starbucks is located near the Long Beach Public Library, City Hall and Kennedy Plaza, all which hosts programs for children and families.

“A wine tavern license issued for this location would be a serious cause of concern for the City and its many families,” the letter reads.

Vining said that several have more recently sent letters asking the State Liquor Authority to withdraw the application.

An Oasis survey has shown that 73.1 percent of Long Beach 12th graders admitted to having an alcoholic drink in the past month compared to 53 percent in Nassau County and 51 percent in New York State, according to Vining.

While there is now nothing to be done about the license being approved, Vining said that Starbucks could make the decision not to go ahead and serve alcohol.

“Let me be clear, Starbucks is not responsible for the problem in the community, we love Starbucks, however, it would nice not to add to it,” she said. “It’s painful to see a place once safe for kids no longer safe.”

What do you think?