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Bro No! Liquor License Moratorium in Williamsburg, North Brooklyn?
By
John Del Signore
Published Apr 8, 2011
Modified Apr 8, 2011
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By
John Del Signore
Published Apr 8, 2011
Modified Apr 8, 2011
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Bar and restaurant owners in Manhattan neighborhoods like the East Village have grown accustomed to encountering stiff opposition from the local community boards (in some cases, they even blame anti-nightlife community board sentiment for driving them out of business). Brooklyn, however, has pretty much been a cakewalk for new bar proprietors—even when they bring the threat of hip hop or gun violence, the community boards have seemed reluctant to take action. But is it closing time for new bars in north Brooklyn? Brooklyn 11211 reports that Community Board 1 is considering a moratorium on new liquor licenses!
We're waiting for confirmation from the Community Board, but according to Brooklyn 11211, "the Executive Committee of CB1 Brooklyn voted unanimously to institute a moratorium on new liquor licenses in Williamsburg, Greenpoint and the rest of North Brooklyn. The vote was a response to what the leaders of CB1 see as an over saturation of liquor licenses in the area. The Board’s Public Safety Committee, which reviews liquor license applications, met last night to discuss the issue, and left with more questions than answers."
Wow, way to harsh the vibe, Community Board No. 1! Maybe you should change your name to Community Board No Fun. To be fair, it does seem like there's a new bar opening in Williamsburg or Greenpoint every five minutes, so this kind of push-back was perhaps inevitable. But if you want to fight for your right to party drunkenly until dawn on every single block in Hipsterville, the full board is having a meeting next Tuesday, April 12th, at the Swinging 60s Senior Citizens Center, 211 Ainslie Street, Brooklyn. We need to get organized, people! Unfortunately, we can't make it to the meeting because TV on the Radio is playing at the Music Hall of Williamsburg.
Tagged
alcohol
bars
brooklyn
drying out
greenpoint
liquor license
williamsburg
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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