BY JESSICA PARKS
Local civic gurus are pushing
to deny a restauranteur’s
liquor license application at a
Flatlands establishment, saying
the storefront has been
marred by a history of raucousness
and violence.
At a virtual meeting on Feb.
17, members of Community
Board 18 unanimously voted to
recommend disapproving the liquor
license application for the
watering hole at 1819 Utica Ave.
— a bar still operating under
the name Brooklyn Estates, but
under new ownership, which
requires a new liquor license.
Brooklyn Estate Center
Industries Inc. recently purchased
the eatery, and are looking
to expand their menu, while
limiting their operating hours
to close at 1 am on weekends —
an hour earlier than the applicants
originally requested.
Locals, however, raised
numerous complaints about
noise and rowdiness from the
establishment — saying the
establishment shouldn’t be
granted a renewed license,
even with new owners.
“It seems to get into a nightclub
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type of operation, and
when this happens, then comes
all kind of problems,” said Joan
Gilbert, a member of the Flatlands
Civic Club. “The 63rd Precinct
has reported gun violence
and this does not serve the residents
of this community.”
The applicants — who are not
related to the establishment’s
most recent owners — were surprised
by the board’s ruling, and
claimed they’ve reinvented the
establishment to meet the community
board’s previous concerns
and transition away from
operating solely as a bar.
“That was the original decision,
and that was the full
point of meeting the applicant,
having that dialogue, addressing
the board’s concerns,” said
Gen Harris, the applicant’s representative.
“They completely
changed their menu, they went
for a full-service restaurant.”
This was the applicants’
third time going before the
board seeking their approval,
and the third time the board
recommended that state liquor
honchos deny the establishment
a liquor license — having
voted against it in both 2018
and 2019, said the board’s Planning
and Zoning Committee
Chair Sal Calise at a December
meeting. Calise further
noted the current applicants
— Richard Lutchman and Jeffrey
Theodat — also owned the
establishment when it operated
under the names Venus in
2013, and Podium in 2015.
Applicants claim there
were no issues of violence during
their previous stint operating
the bar, and that under
their leadership, neighbors
shouldn’t expect to see the
same problems as before. (The
NYPD told Brooklyn Paper of
just one recent police report in
New owners of 1819 Utica Ave. plan to open a restaurant and serve liquor
at the controversial establishment. Google
regards to gunshots at the location
on Nov. 25 of last year.)
Since the previous denials
at the last two board meetings,
Harris added, the new owners
invited the local precinct to
come in for a walk-through after
which, she claims, they’d
received the offi cers’ blessing.
“We have really done everything
to address the board’s
concerns,” Harris said.
But the police chief told the
board that was not the case. “I
did the walk-through with your
clients,” said Captain Genevieve
Isom of the 63rd Precinct.
“I told them straight up that I
had concerns.”
Community board members
cited past gun violence at
the location, and one member
raised suspicion over a lack of
windows at the eatery.
“They are saying they want
to make this a wonderful restaurant
in the neighborhood,”
said Gerard Brewster. “I have
never been to a restaurant
without a window.”
The applicant’s representative
maintained her clients’
non-relation to owners of the
bar’s most recent iteration.
“They are really looking to
bring something new and different
to the area,” Harris said.
“We understand the problems
that were there before...but that
was under different applicants.”
The board’s vote is advisory
only but will be considered
when the State Liquor Authority
makes their decision.
Community concerns
Flatlands locals bash plan to reinvent
restaurant, citing fears of violence
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