The government playbook here (as we experienced with medical marijuana in the 80s) is to mandate the license then grant zero licenses. It says the application fee is non refundable. Be advised, bitlicense starting to look like a scam.
Traditional money transmitter licenses are also non-refundable in every state. That's because an application fee is the fee for reviewing and processing an application, and you can un-review an application. Some states do have separate fees, one for applying and one for issuance, however. Remove the tin foil.
In fact, I can't think of any application fees that are refundable. It just doesn't make sense.
But who cares - that's NY 
