Greenpoint landlord converts restaurant to apartment, as liquor license opposition grows

A Greenpoint landlord has been coerced into converting his ground-floor restaurant space into an apartment, the Brooklyn Paper reported, as community opposition to additional liquor licenses in the area has reached a fever pitch.

Peter Jakab told Community Board 1 that he is withdrawing the liquor license application for a Hungarian restaurant in the ground-floor of his 11 Newell Street rental building near the corner of Driggs Avenue. He made the decision because of the “neighborhood’s strong opposition to any type of liquor license.”

The space was formerly home to Continental, a Polish restaurant and bar that closed last December. Residents opposed a restaurant that stayed open late and served alcohol across the street from a Catholic school and a block from a church. The community called Jakab’s decision a smart business one.

Brooklyn Paper noted this is the second recent liquor license withdrawal in the area, after a Manhattan nightclub owner pulled the plug on a planned North 1st Street club. [Brooklyn Paper]