Club licenses renewed
with some conditions
Council approves
Breakfast Club license
despite objection
BY SUE M.MORGAN
Staff Writer

Barring legal disputes over occupancy limits and floor plans, the Old Bridge Township Council agreed to conditionally renew the liquor license for the Breakfast Club 80 on Monday.

The license for the establishment located at 60 Route 516 was one of 41 licenses held by township restaurants, taverns, package stores and social clubs that the council agreed to renew, most with little scrutiny.

However, representatives of the Breakfast Club and two local go-go bars did face some questioning from at least two council members during brief hearings on each of their renewals. In all three cases, the council agreed to renew the licenses with the same conditions set by the governing body last year, as recommended by Township Attorney Jerome Convery.

The six council members in attendance unanimously approved licenses for the two go-go bars, After Dark and Club 516.

As a condition of their license renewals, representatives of After Dark and Club 516 were advised by Convery to station an employee at their entrances to check patrons’ identification and to provide a security detail in their parking lots on both Friday and Saturday nights.

Patron identification must be checked by employees at the doors of both bars between 6 p.m. and closing time at 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights, Convery read.

On those same nights, a security detail must patrol the parking lots at both clubs from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. to ensure that patrons are not gathering there, the attorney said.

Those restrictions were imposed by the council in 2002 following police reports of violent incidents at the two go-go bars, Convery explained.

Wayne J. Peck, a Freehold attorney representing After Dark, located on Route 516 in Laurence Harbor, told the council that the conditions on his client’s liquor license have helped prevent any such incidents at the club over the past year.

"The conditions imposed by the council are working," Peck said.

Rod Fredda, owner of Club 516, located on Route 516 westbound, also agreed to the conditions of the renewal. Minor fire code violations cited by the township fire marshal’s office will be corrected by the end of the week, he added.

The vote was 5-1 to renew the license for the Breakfast Club.

Ward 6 Councilwoman Lucille Panos, who has fielded numerous complaints from her constituents about noise and crowds at the bar, cast the sole dissenting vote.

David R. Bruins, a North Haledon attorney representing Breakfast Club owner Michael Vanleeuwen, told the council that his client will comply with the four restrictions on his license, as imposed by the previous council, even though he is contesting those restrictions in court.

The first condition mandates that no more than 200 patrons at a time be permitted inside the Breakfast Club until Vanleeuwen receives permission to increase the limit from either the township’s Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment and the township fire marshal, Convery read.

Secondly, Vanleeuwen must retain the floor plan approved by the township’s code enforcement and engineering departments in November 2002, Convery went on.

That plan, which shows seating for 64 patrons at 16 tables, can only be lawfully changed if Vanleeuwen applies for and receives a use variance from the Zoning Board, the township attorney explained.

The third condition states that no valet parking will be allowed on the club premises.

A security plan to be approved by township Police Chief Thomas Collow must also be submitted to the administration in accordance with the fourth condition of the license, Convery read.

Though the Breakfast Club plans to appeal a March decision by Middlesex County Superior Court Judge Robert Longhi, which upheld the 200-patron occupancy limit and prohibited valet parking, Bruins accepted the conditions for his client.

"We intend to object," Bruins said.

The appeal before an administrative law judge is scheduled for September, Convery noted.

In addition, Vanleeuwen, who has stated that he should be allowed to accommodate over 800 patrons at his establishment, is appealing the floor plan allowed by the township’s code enforcement department to the Middlesex County Construction Board of Appeals.

"This is still in litigation," Convery told the council. "[But] I recommend that the renewal be granted with the same conditions as last year."

Panos suggested tabling the renewal until the licensee had actually presented a security plan to Collow. The councilwoman also pressed for a complete list of code and occupancy violations that have occurred at the club.

"This applicant, after we put these conditions on his license, has thumbed his nose at us," Panos said. "I can’t vote ‘yes’ unless I can see where there have been other violations."

Council Vice President Patrick M. Gillespie and Convery advised against delaying action, however.

"We are in litigation [with the Breakfast Club] so we should approve [the renewal] with conditions," Gillespie said.

"I believe we have taken very strong action against this licensee," he continued. "I don’t believe we should table [it]. We should reaffirm this approval with conditions."

Ward 5 Councilman G. Kevin Calogera, who has also fielded resident complaints about the Breakfast Club, agreed.

"Because of these conditions and because we are willing to go to court, I think it has made a difference in the way this club is operated and the area it’s in," Calogera said.

Calogera also said that a list of violations committed by any licensee, as well as their severity, should be provided to council members before future hearings on renewals.

"I would like a list of the violations to find out what is minor and what is not," Calogera said. "I think we do the council an injustice by not having this."

Though some neighbors of the club have complained about its operations, no members of the public were present to speak on the renewal.

Vanleeuwen has maintained that he has been operating the Breakfast Club, a popular 1980s-theme establishment, as a restaurant and bar. The township, through checks by its code enforcement and engineering professionals, has argued that he is unlawfully running the establishment as a dance hall.