A Kenilworth bar hit with a 30-day suspension of its liquor license and a six-month ban on DJ music has continued to operate following an appeal to state authorities, and a hearing is scheduled in Trenton next month on whether a stay of the penalties should remain in effect pending the appeal’s outcome.

The penalties imposed last month by the Borough Council on the Gavelstone Bar & Grill on Michigan Avenue, originally scheduled to take effect June 15, were actually conditions of the bar’s annual license renewal, which was approved.

And borough officials say the penalties were not intended to shut down the bar, where DJ dancing and a predominantly African-American clientele have been in contrast to the sleepier Irish pub the bar replaced three years ago, and to the adjacent residential, largely white neighborhood around Fairfield Avenue, just off Michigan.

Rather, officials say the suspension and DJ ban were meant to address persistent complaints from residents of the neighborhood that some patrons entering and leaving the bar were noisy and occasionally belligerent, parking in front of driveways, urinating, and littering lawns with beer bottles and condoms.

“All we’re asking is, we want the bar to be a good neighbor,” said Council President Linda Karlovitch, who acknowledged that the situation has improved since the May 22 hearing when the penalties were imposed.

Referring to the bar’s owner, Jessica Quintana, Karlovitch added, “We want her to be successful and run a good business and be responsible for her business, inside and outside the bar.”

And Karlovitch, added, “I want our residents to be happy, too.”

But Quintana has insisted that the suspension and DJ ban would effectively kill her business, and she has appealed the penalties to the state Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, whose director will preside over the appeal hearing, her lawyer said Tuesday. The hearing had originally been scheduled for July 9, but was postponed, said Kennilworth’s lawyer.

Quintana has insisted that the complaints and the penalties levied against her reflect a racial bias against African Americans among local residents and officials of Kenilworth, where as of the 2010 Census, 88% of residents were white and 2.9% black. Residents and officials vehemently reject the assertion.

The morning after the penalties were imposed, Quintana posted on Instagram part of a recorded phone conversation she had with the property manager of a nearby apartment building, in which she said his use of the term “these people” and his insistence that “we don’t drink Hennessy here,” were racist code language that proved her point.

At the time of the conversation, the property manager, Anthony Cuppari, was an alternate member of the borough planning board. And while Cuppari insisted that neither he nor his remarks were racist, and the bar had no business before the planning board, he resigned from the board.

Like Karlovitch, residents of Fairfield Avenue have also acknowledged that the situation began to improve outside the bar in the wake of the May 22 hearing, aided by measures that include improved lighting and signage indicating Fairfield is a one-way street.

Quintana’s lawyer, Bernardo Henry, seized upon the improvements to question why the suspension and the DJ ban are necessary.

“If there’s no noise or traffic, why is the DJ an issue?” Henry said. Referring to the 6-month ban, he added, “My position is that it is not a legitimate government objective.”

Henry expressed hope that he and his counterpart, Borough Attorney Frank Capece, could come to a settlement and avoid a protracted appeal, a process that otherwise could extend well beyond the upcoming ABC hearing, which will determine whether the temporary stay should remain in effect, or the penalties be imposed.

The lawyers said the stay was granted automatically upon the appeal, which was filed on June 14. To refute the stay, said Capece, he must show that it puts the township in danger of irrevocable harm. To win the appeal, Henry said, he will try to demonstrate that the 30-day license suspension and DJ ban had no “legitimate governmental objective.”

“Maybe while we’re down there, if the attorney’s authorized to arrive at an agreement, we could reach an agreement with the director,” of the state ABC, Henry said of next month’s trip to Trenton.

But borough officials do not accept that the noise problem has been resolved, and a settlement may not be so simple.

“The big issue,” Capece said, “is the noise and the live DJ.”

UPDATE: This article was updated to reflect a postponement of the state ABC hearing on the bar owner’s appeal of her suspension and DJ ban.

Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips.

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