David McWater Resigns From Community Board 3

Longtime Community Board 3 member and former chairperson David McWater announced his resignation, effective immediately, at the board's Sept. 24 meeting.

In a statement given to Our Town Downtown, McWater said the recent death of his father and mother-in-law as well as the friction between him and the LES Dwellers contributed to his decision.

The Dwellers are a community group that opposes CB3 granting any additional liquor licenses in a neighborhood known as Hell Square, which they say is oversaturated with late-night bars. Before his resignation, McWater sat on the CB3 board that advised the State Liquor Authority on such matters. McWater currently owns three bars: Doc Holliday's and The Library on Avenue A and Milano's on East Houston near Mulberry Street.

"With this controversy it just didn't seem fair to the incoming [Manhattan Borough President] Gale Brewer to put her in a position of dealing with advocates for both sides when I wasn't even going to re-apply anyway," said McWater in a statement. McWater said he decided "some time ago" he would not re-apply to CB3 in April 2014.

An article on McWater's resignation in the weekly newspaper The Villager raised the question of whether he is a legal resident of New York, and suggested he files taxes in New Jersey. McWater maintained in that article that he lives in the city but said he does have a summer house in New Jersey.

Under city regulations a person serving on a community boards must live in New York City.

McWater did not return requests for comment on his residency status. According to the Manhattan Borough President's Office the matter is currently under review.

McWater did say that he's working on a "very exciting project" in professional boxing to bring "the heavyweight championship of the world back to the United States."

At the time of his resignation he was a chairperson of CB3's Land Use, Zoning, Public and Private Housing Committee. He was a member of CB3 for 14 years.