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Protest Hearing Thursday Against New Club at Carnaval Site
If you live in or around Sharpstown, you no doubt remember the battle to prevent Club Carnaval from building a larger facility on the old Gillman land. That protest led to an agreement to close the existing Club Carnaval (at Beechnut and the Southwest Freeway) when its lease ended last January. That did indeed occur, as promised. Now, a new owner has applied for a liquor license to open a similar club in the same location at Beechnut and the Southwest Freeway. This applicant comes from Atlanta where the previous owner had contacts, and is using the same attorney that represented the previous owner. (You can draw your own conclusions....) This Thursday (and Friday, if necessary), a hearing will be held in Houston on a protest filed against the new permit. The protest was filed by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, the City of Houston, the Sharpstown Civic Association, Council Member M. J. Kahn, nearby residents, and me.
The hearing will be held: The building where the hearing is held is actually on EAST T.C. JESTER just north of the intersection of East T.C. Jester and the North Loop. Enter the "Preserve at the North Loop" complex at the second entrance and proceed through the parking lot, past the duck crossing, to the first building past the postal/UPS/Airborne drop boxes. If you live in the area of the proposed club, I encourage you to attend the hearing to help send the message that nearby residents oppose this permit. There will be a public comment period during the hearing (probably at the beginning) during which you can express your views without being subject to questioning by the attorneys. Even if you don't intend to speak, however, you can attend to show your opposition. There will also be a formal part of the hearing that will be conducted much like a court case, with formal sworn testimony and cross examination, for those of us who filed the protest. As always at these hearings, it will not be enough to simply show that neighbors don't want the club located there. With our basic American belief in property rights, the government cannot stop someone from engaging in a legal business just because others disagree. However, this location has such a well-established history as a site where major crimes were regularly committed, it falls in the category of a nuisance property. Merely changing the owner while operating the same manner of business will likely get the same dangerous result as we had with Carnaval. As always, feel free to contact me if I can provide any additional information. I look forward to seeing you Thursday.
Scott Hochberg
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