State liquor authority (SLA) commissioners rejected a compromise offer that would have gotten the liquor license restored for P&G’s. The deal would have rolled back closing time to midnight and refocused on the restaurant business, along with any financial penalties that may have been assessed. Instead, commissioners voted to cancel the liquor license.
That’s not the end of the story for this historic business. There is a right to a hearing on license cancellation, and attorney Joseph O’Connor confirmed that this is being exercised. In addition, through a lawsuit pending in Ulster County, O’Connor and co-counsel Marty Mehler are seeking to stay the license suspension, as well.
On March 15, SLA agents conducted an inspection in response to complaints about underage drinking, which resulted in the liquor license for P&G’s being suspended. What they allege is that out of 200 patrons in the bar that night, about 120 were under 21. Investigators say that 63 of them admitted that they were purchasing or consuming alcohol on the premises despite being underage, and 33 of those signed statements to that effect,14 minors were ticketed for fake ID, and four bartenders were arrested for serving minors. It’s further alleged that at least four of the underage individuals served at the bar were 18 years of age.
On April 25, the license holders, Michael Beck Jr., and his sister Kristen Beck, appeared at the full SLA board hearing, along with their father, Michael, the former license holder.
Commissioner Lily M. Fan, who chairs the SLA, said at theApril 25 meeting that there had been problems since 2020, but O’Connor disputed some of those allegations. Fan noted that two intoxicated drivers told police officers that their last drink had been at P&G’s, which O’Connor called “double hearsay.” While fake IDs were collected by DMV employees on two occasions in 2022, O’Connor said that there was no evidence any of those minors made it inside.
Fan repeatedly returned to the fact that identification was “being checked with a flashlight” instead of a scanner. According to Mike Beck, Jr., an SLA investigator has “recommended” a particular brand of scanner, but a less expensive model was obtained which broke down in late 2023. Beck further explained that employees adopted the practice of passing IDs to town police officers, who were apparently on-site to catch counterfeits. As for what happened on March 15, O’Connor said that a “rogue doorman” was accepting payment to let underage patrons in. Mehler noted that “everybody was fired.”
The best advice Fan could offer was to “let us cancel this, and start over” with a new liquor license application. Mehlerdismissed that as unreasonable, given the bureaucratic hurdles involved. Instead, a full hearing will be sought on the fate of this license.
P&G’s is still open serving food everyday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
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