Neighbor to Protest Liquor License Renewal of Lotus Lounge

Lotus Lounge (1420 K Street NW) will have its liquor license renewal protested by an abutting property owner, according to information was made public at the November 20 meeting of the liquor-licensing affairs committee of Advisory Neighborhood Committee (ANC) 2F/Logan Circle.

The protest will be brought by 1400 K Co., LLC, owners of the office building on the southwest corner of 14th and K Streets. 1400 K Co. seeks to have Lotus Lounge enter into a settlement agreement similar to the one 1400 K Co. has with another neighbor, The Park at 14th nightclub (920 14th Street).

The ongoing three-cornered struggle between ANC2F, 1400 K Co., and The Park at 14th nightclub has been the subject of previous SALM blog posts, most recently on November 14.

However, ANC2F will not join in the protest against Lotus Lounge. The deadline to petition D.C.'s Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA) for standing in this case is December 2, but ANC2F would not have an opportunity to vote until its meeting of December 4. The liquor-licensing affairs committee decided to take no action on the case, and it will not seek to enter into a settlement agreement with Lotus Lounge.

Attorney wants agreements with two nightclubs

Attorney John Patrick Brown of the law firm of Greenstein DeLorme & Luchs is representing 1400 K Co. in both cases. At the November 20 meeting, he told the liquor-licensing affairs committee his client would sign the letter of protest against Lotus Lounge the following day. A protest will provide leverage in agreement negotiations.

"I have not communicated with Lotus," Brown said of the letter of protest.

Brown said Lotus Lounge, like The Park at 14th, had a "rich investigative history". In the case of the Lotus Lounge, this included brawling, shootings, and assaults on police officers.

Public documents indicate the Lotus Lounge was fined $4000 and required to suspend business for six days in June 2012 for "failure to have police detail".

A WUSA9 report (video available here) details a history of violent activity connected to the club, including the June 2011 case where a District Heights man was so severely beaten by off-duty D.C. police officers working as security for the nightclub that he lost an eye. Four D.C. police officers were indicted in June 2012 for assault, conspiracy, and perjury in connection with this incident, according to a Washington Post report.

Brown also noted that, although Lotus Lounge's official capacity is 239, its web site says the club's capacity is 400.

Brown said his client wouldn't mind if ANC2F delayed the process in order to join in. But when the committee did not express enthusiasm, Brown did not pursue the matter. 

"At the end of the day, the goal for my client is a voluntary agreement like The Park at 14th," Brown said.

A settlement agreement is sometimes entered into by liquor-serving establishments, ANCs, and third parties to codify arrangement concerning opening hours, trash pickup, valet parking, and other matters which may impact the public.

Park at 14th Nightclub Seeks to End Agreement with ANC2F

Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2F/Logan has heard via email that The Park at 14th nightclub (920 14th Street NW) intends to request a termination of their settlement agreement. No one from The Park at 14th appeared at the September 19 meeting of ANC2F's the liquor-licensing affairs committee to explain why. However, an attorney representing the owners of 1400 K Street, an abutting property which is also a signatory to the agreement, did appear at the meeting and urged ANC2F to keep the agreement in place.

It is still not clear why the nightclub wishes to terminate its settlement agreement.

Settlement agreements are entered into by liquor licensees, ANCs, and other interested parties to govern certain aspects of commercial activity that effects the wider community, like operating hours, parking, sidewalk cafes, and vermin control. Decision concerning the termination of settlement agreements are handled by DC's Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Board.

The liquor-licensing affairs committee voted unanimously to recommend the full ANC oppose The Park at 14th's petition to end the agreement. The matter may be next taken up at the next meeting of the full ANC, scheduled to take place at 6:30pm on Wednesday, October 2 at the Washington Plaza Hotel (10 Thomas Circle).

The Park at 14th is a multi-story nightclub of 14,000 square feet with a capacity of 615. It has both disc jockeys and live entertainment, and serves food.

In 2011, The Park at 14th was in the news when Brandon Banks, then a kick-returner for the Washington Redskins, was injured in a stabbing outside the club. The club was also in the news in August 2013 when singer/actor Tyrese reportedly passed out at the club.

ABC Board, “The Reef” Reach Tentative Safety Agreement After Stabbing

Brian Harrison, owner/operator of “The Reef”, a bar at 2446 18th Street in Adams Morgan, and DC government authorities have reached a tentative agreement to help the bar to change its ways. DC Police Chief Cathy Lanier closed the bar after an August 10 stabbing by a member of the bar's security staff. DC liquor control authorities have prolonged the closure on the basis of possible danger to the public.

On Friday, August 16, Harrison signed an “Offer of Compromise” with the DC Attorney General's office which should allow it to re-open soon. The Offer has not yet been accepted by the ABC Board.

18th Street, Adams Morgan (Wikipedia/Michiel1972)

At a hearing that day, Harrison and Fernando Rivero, Assistant Attorney General at the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia, told DC's Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Board they had reached a tentative agreement about a program of improvements to the club's security staff, apparatus, and procedures. They sought Board approval so the club can reopen.

The Stabbing

According to testimony at the hearing, the member of the bar's security staff who did the stabbing was on probation for armed robbery. He allegedly held the victim in a headlock while stabbing the victim repeatedly. Testimony at the hearing also indicated the stabber had been drinking on duty, in contravention of workplace rules. Robinson said he was unaware of the employee's background, and the employee had lost his job after the incident.

A report in the Washington Post and hearing testimony indicate that this is the second instance of assault at The Reef less than three months. In addition, the Post report says that The Reef has been fined for operating outside of licensing hours and received a warning letter about serving alcohol to a minor.

The Agreement

Robinson and Rivero outlined the details of the proposed agreement. The most important component was security staff training.

“We see this as a training issue,” Rivero said.

The Reef will hire an outside company to do security training. No one will be allowed to do security there until they can certify that they've completed training. In addition, security staff will have to take refresher courses twice a year. All training must be closely documented.

“The safety of the client has always been hugely important to us,” Harrison said.

Rivero said he outlined the qualities that an outside company should have to satisfy the Board, but could not require or even recommend specific companies because of ethical considerations.

Other parts of agreement include

-- The current director of security, a college student, will be demoted. She will continue to be part of The Reef's security staff.

-- Mandatory background checks for all current security staff and future hires. Applicants with violent criminal histories will not be eligible to work on the security staff.

-- Strict guidelines, in writing, about what security people may do while on duty on the premises.

-- A formal security plan, including a map and plan of security cameras, on file with the DC government.

-- The purchase of additional security cameras and improved coverage to include the club's staircase landings, where the latest violent incident took place. (Robinson told the Board that he had bought the cameras the previous day.)

-- A plan for storage of security tapes. Tapes will be made available to the police and ABRA within 48 hours after a request.

-- Use of devices to detect false IDs (already in use, according to Robinson).

SALM has not received permission to publish the original Offer of Compromise document. 

The Offer of Compromise document is available here.

Under DC law, The Reef faced a possible maximum punishment of permanent suspension of license, plus a fine of up to $10,000.

The Reef's next appearance before the ABC Board will be at 3pm on Thursday, August 22, at the Reeves Center (U and 14th Streets). It is possible that The Reef's permission to operate will be reinstated at that time.

The August 16 meeting took place in the ABC Board hearing room at the Reeves Center.