Franklin Park Bar... Closing?

Carnivore wrote: [quote=catwalkertexasranger][quote=xlizellx]According to this: http://www.brooklynian.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=56779 and the signs I saw at the bar on Monday night, it seems that the big bar is open but only sometimes and only through the restaurant. I guess that have to divide the two spaces and that worked better than having the big/small bar together and the restaurant separate. Hopefully these things can be resolved..

Also, I hadn't noticed this before, but TWO DOLLAR pints before 4pm? That's awesome!

The space is now divided to comply with the law. All places of assembly over 100 people needs fire sprinklers and a 36 inch min exit path. The law was changed after a 2003 NH club fire that killed 100 people. If music equipment is used over a certain db the law also requires that the audio is turned off automatically(just like in a theater fire where the house lights go up and the projection is stopped). The new NFPA codes did not fully go into effect until 2005. The NH lawsuit was settled for 176 million dollars. All issues can be resolved by installing sprinklers and common emergency exit lights and evac door exit signs for the common space proposed. The proposed density of the new FP/Dutchboy space was/is @250 people the code compliance for this big a public assembly space is hard if not impossible to do piece meal. The architects and designers need to treat the area as one instead of 3 independent businesses. The area desperately needs news business and jobs it just has to be done within current public safety standards

They essentially are 3 separate businesses with 1 owner. If they were owned by 3 different people, with no door between them, they would have been totally up to code. Yet somehow putting a door between them makes it unsafe? It boggles the mind that regulators would somehow believe that limiting the flow of people between spaces would somehow make it safer in the event of a fire.

This is exactly right. If you have so many sq feet to deal with(smaller or bigger) in an emergency the codes are very different. When you use common exits all the things need to tie together, even when it looks like the loosest of associations. When and if an fire happens in a space (bathroom,kitchen,elec switch gear,ect, People in the effected space need to be able to leave safely. AC and heating units need to shut down in the space so that don't pump smoke into areas that have people in them. Going over 100 people creates a different can of worms to deal with. Conventional wisdom says if it costs 5000 to comply with 100 people size issues w the city then it should cost around 10000 to deal with 200 people size issues,probably closer to 50,000 rather than 10. If you leave old things alone it take the city years ,sometimes never to discover that they are unsafe and don't comply with the code. If you have a good architect,designer,consultant ,design and submit a plan to the city The city will not discover they are unqualified until you are almost done, This is another prime example of why people pay bribes and do thing using midnight construction techniques. This guy was trying to sell beer and hamburgers and will end up knowing a 1000 times more than the city inspector. Toly has been educated against his will,with his own money..Bloomberg has a task force working on this. Your example is a sound one, When only a bar existed the open flame fire hazard was not part of the formula, now a small fire at the grill could fill a common space with smoke(via the hallway or AC unit) in seconds. Worst part about fire death is that very few people burn up..it smoke that kills the vast majority. When you go over 100 people, the type of fabric on seat cushions and carpet and flooring have a code.