Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Food
Puerto Rican Restaurant Sues, Says Manhattan's CB 1 Is Racist
By
Garth Johnston
Published May 31, 2011
Modified May 31, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Garth Johnston
Published May 31, 2011
Modified May 31, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
TriBeCa's bi-level Puerto Rican restaurant Sazon has been having problems with its neighbors since it opened but rather than continue work it out the restaurant's owner is so fed up today he filed a multi-million dollar federal civil rights suit accusing the city, the State Liquor Authority and members of lower Manhattan's Community Board 1 of discriminating against the restaurant because its customers aren't "from this neighborhood." Owner Genaro Morales explained to us that the suit was a last resort, "we've made several attempts at mediating meetings with the CB and the community and nothing has gotten better."
At the heart of the matter is the fact that while Sazon's owners don't deny it has been the subject of tense community board meetings and strict rules they argue that other nearby places have, for no discernable reason, not been. Specifically, Ward III got its liquor license first and with fewer restrictions, despite opening months after Sazon. And that is costing Morales cash. He says he's spent mounds of moolah soundproofing the entire restaurant—"the amount of revenue I've lost not being able to stay open till four" is enormous says Morales, who also owns Sofrito on the East Side. "We're talking millions of dollars in lost revenue."
The final straw for Morales—who claims his restaurant has suffered a regular barrage of "unsubstantiated and frivolous noise complaints," not to mention a slew of racially charged remarks from neighbors—came when he claims the Community Board voted 37-1 to deny his restaurant the right to open a basement bar and hire a DJ in a "closed door emergency meeting."
The only problem is, as CB1 District Manager Noah Pfefferblit explained to us, that "closed door" meeting was actually the regularly scheduled full community board meeting, which is always open to the public. The issue was that the restaurant has had a slew of problems with the neighborhood—check out the community board resolution on Sazon [PDF]—that go beyond noise problems (apparently Sazon was, among other things, using cones to "reserve" parking). When Sazon approached the SLA committee last month for a second bar and a DJ, Pfefferblit says "we told them we would oppose it. But they went ahead with it. And we voted on it at the full board meeting."
"They have been in no way discriminated against," Pfefferblit says. The SLA board happily gave them their license when they first applied, he says, and "we welcome to them to the community." They just haven't been good neighbors.
When asked what he hopes to get out of the $50 million dollar lawsuit, Morales tells us he just wants to get the "same thing everybody else gets."
Tagged
cb1
community board 1
discrimination lawsuit
genaro morales
manhattan
racism
sla
state liquor authority
tribeca
Garth Johnston
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE food
10 dishes that demonstrate the delicious diversity of curry in New York City
The global dish is shapeshifting and ubiquitous.
By
Robert Sietsema
Published Sep 12, 2026
Frozen yogurt is back in New York City. So are the super long lines.
Is it worth the high price and ridiculous wait? Gothamist needed to find out.
By
Sonia Rao
Food
Frozen yogurt is back in New York City. So are the super long lines.
Is it worth the high price and ridiculous wait? Gothamist needed to find out.
By
Sonia Rao
5 NYC banana puddings as good as Magnolia's
By
Hannah Frishberg
Where to eat in Greenpoint, Brooklyn right now, from Polish to Sichuan to Iberian
By
Robert Sietsema
Can a congressional candidate's dumpling diplomacy win over Queens’ immigrant communities?
By
Caroline Shin
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .