Park View, D.C.

While the ANC 4C meeting last night had a full agenda of new items ranging from speed bumps on the 1200 block of Emerson Street, NW, to a presentation by DC Cares and DC Hoops Basketball League for a grant to support a youth basketball program, it was Sweet Mango’s suspended liquor license that was the main event.

Last month’s ANC 4C meeting occurred on the heels of the December 5th shooting and before the ABRA summary hearing, not giving the commissioners a chance to gather facts and act. At last night’s meeting, Martha Jenkins and Cynthia Simms from ABRA were on hand to answer questions about ABRA, voluntary agreements, and general questions pertinent to the Sweet Mango case. After fielding questions on how liquor licenses become suspended, what causes a license to get revoked, and who is responsible for enforcing voluntary agreements (its ABRA), the focus moved more to the Sweet Mango case in particular.

One item that was shared by ABRA is that in addition to the status hearing scheduled for January 20th, there is also a show cause hearing on Sweet Mango schedule for February 17, 2010, at 3:00 p.m. In the Notice of Status Hearing and Show Cause Hearing document, it lists six charges against Sweet Mango that could lead to a fine, suspension, or revocation of their liquor license. There were:

1. Charge I: [Sweet Mango] failed to allow an ABRA investigator immediate access to the establishment and otherwise interfered with an investigation, in violation of D.C. Official Code § 25-823 (5) (2009), for which the Board may take the proposed action.
2. Charge II: [Sweet Mango] allowed the licensed establishment to be used for an illegal or disorderly purpose § 25-823 (2) (2009), for which the Board may take the proposed action pursuant to D.C. Official Code § 25-823 (2) (2009).
3. Charge III: [Sweet Mango] failed to obtain an entertainment endorsement prior to offering entertainment at the licensed establishment, in violation of D.C. Official Code § 25-113a (2009), for which the Board may take the proposed action pursuant to D.C. Official Code § 25-823 (1) (2009).
4. Charge IV: [Sweet Mango] violated the terms of [its] voluntary agreement, in violation of D.C. Official Code § 25-823 (6) (2009), for which the Board may take the proposed action pursuant to D.C. Official Code § 25-823 (6) (2009).
5. Charge V: [Sweet Mango] made a substantial change in the operation of the establishment without first obtaining approval of the Board, in violation of D.C. Official Code § 25-762 (a) (2), (3), (4), (6), (8), (9), (13) and (14) (2009), for which the Board may take the proposed action pursuant to D.C. Official Code § 25-823 (1) (2009).
6. Charge VI: [Sweet Mango] failed to make a copy of [its] voluntary agreement (VA) immediately accessible to an Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA) investigator during an inspection, in violation of D.C. Code § 25-711 (a), for which the Board may take the proposed  action pursuant to D.C. Code § 25-823.

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