Thomas MacMillan Photos
Four months after a man was killed outside his restaurant and he was ordered to stop serving drinks at the bar, Carlos Pena is expanding his operation. He wants city permission to open a patio he already built — illegally, according to city officials.
Pena (pictured) is the owner of Soco’s, a bar at 50 Fitch St. that has been the subject of controversy since before it opened over a year ago. On Tuesday, Apr. 13, he’ll appear before the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) to request a special exception allowing him to have an outdoor patio at his restaurant.
That patio (pictured) already exists. It was built “under the assumption that the previous approval of both zoning and the state liquor commission was all that was required,” states a March 19 letter from Pena to the BZA.
But according to zoning enforcement officer and building official Andy Rizzo, patio permission was never granted and the patio should not have been built, let alone put into use.
History of Trouble
Pena’s appearance at the BZA next Tuesday marks the latest chapter in an ongoing story of conflict between Soco’s, its neighbors, and the city.
The trouble began in September 2008, when Pena first appeared before the BZA to find permission to open his business. Neighborhood opposition quickly formed. It intensified after Soco’s Facebook page advertised that Southern Connecticut State University students could “walk to Soco, and stumble home.”
In December 2008, the BZA approved Pena’s request and allowed him to open the restaurant, with the condition that he have only a “service bar.” That means he can’t serve drinks at the bar. All beverages have to be ordered from and served by a waiter.
Soco’s operated for a year without major incident, until Dec. 26, when the city sent Pena a cease-and-desist letter ordering him to stop serving drinks at his bar. Five days later, two men were shot outside the bar early on New Year’s Day. One of them later died, becoming the year’s first murder victim.
On March 19, Pena sent a letter to the BZA saying he had addressed the problem at the center of his cease and desist. “There is no seating at the bar and staff has been hired to carry out waitress/waiter service,” Pena’s letter states, in part.
That wasn’t quite good enough for zoning officials. On Feb 22. Rizzo sent a letter to Pena explaining that it’s not enough to remove seating. There should be no public access to the bar at all, his letter asserts.
Rizzo’s letter goes on to say that “no patio for your restaurant has been approved by any City board, commission, or department.”
“No Patio”
According to his lawyer, when Pena built the patio, he thought it was legal. That might be because of a mix-up on a building application.
Pena came into Rizzo’s office on July 31, 2008 and signed the application for a building permit, Rizzo said. At the time, the front of the application mentioned a patio. The back stated that the application was for a 110 seat restaurant with 28 outside patio seats.
The front of the application was amended with the words, “no patio,” said Rizzo. But the back of the application was never changed.
The typed version of the permit, which was sent to Pena, did not grant permission to build a patio, Rizzo said. The plans that were presented to the BZA had the patio crossed out. Soco’s should not be using the patio, he said. If Pena is serving drinks out there, Rizzo said, “I’m going to have to cite him.”
“I think there was some administrative confusion,” replied Pena’s lawyer, Greg Sachs, in an interview Monday. Pena built the patio because he had a signed permit to do so, Sachs said. Now he’s returning to the BZA to make sure everything is proper.
“The purpose of the application is to gain clarity,” Sachs said. “What was built was built with permission.”
Sachs declined to comment on whether Pena has been using the outside seating area.
An afternoon visit to Soco’s last week found chairs and tables with umbrellas on the patio. Cigarette butts were scattered on the ground. Asked if he was using the patio, Pena said he was “just cleaning it up.”
“I’m trying to feed my family,” he said. “I’m not hurting anybody.”
i don't consider being dishonest when "trying to feed my family" and neither should you, Mr. Pena.
new haven does not need business owners that do not care about how their business affects the community. we have too many already.