Residents Push Back Against Planned Red Hook Bar

RED HOOK, BROOKLYN — Residents on a Red Hook street are pushing back on plans to open a new bar on their block.

The Beard Street Block Association says the new bar will cause more noise, produce more trash and strain the sewer system on their street.

"A Brewery in Greenpoint has applied to open its second bar, at 158 Beard Street between Van Brunt and Conover Streets," the group writes on a website petitioning against the bar. "This is a residential block without any bars or restaurants. The capacity of our streets and sewers to absorb this kind of use is already beyond capacity."

The proposed bar is owned by the same man behind Keg and Lantern Brewing Company in Greenpoint, Kieran Breen. That bar has an on-site brewery and serves food and drink.

Breen told Patch the Red Hook location will have a similar set up. About two-thirds of the space will be used for a brewery with the rest for a tasting room and food. And no loud noise.

"We don’t have any outdoor space," Breen told Patch. "Everything’s going to be indoors. The current location we have now is just background music from an iPod. Not live bands or DJs."

Residents on the block aren't so sure.

"We have a bar crawl as it is," Beard Street resident Allen Glatter told the Red Hook Star-Revue. "Particularly during the weekends, it’s almost unbearable when you come out of your house on Saturday morning and see the garbage and the trash… When you’re woken up at 2, 3, 4 o’clock in the morning. I’m not going to tell anybody not to have a good time, but we feel [multiple bars] have a largely negative impact on our quality of life."

Breen said that while his Greenpoint bar has a liquor license to operate until 4 a.m. but usually doesn't stay open until past 2 or so. He plans to do the same in Red Hook.

Breen also said he met with some of the neighbors to talk about a compromise. But he said they were "not particularly" open to any of the suggestions he made.

Breen's new brewery and restaurant will go before Community Board 6's permits and licensing committee on Monday night to apply for a liquor license. The Beard Street Block Association plans to make their presence known, encouraging people to come to that meeting.

Here's why they say they're opposed, according to the block association's website:

There has been no review by DEP or DOT to assess the impact on the ancient infrastructure and not enough time to allow the neighborhood to weigh in

- More car traffic and new commercial truck deliveries will make the street unsafe for our kids and families

- Up to 50% of the block's residents are under 15 years old

The sewage system cannot accommodate another restaurant

- The hundreds of gallons flushed from brewing will overflow the sewer

- Other new Red Hook restaurants need above-ground pumps to move the sewage to the main line - so will this

They want to be clear that they aren't necessarily against bars in general.

"Red Hook is still rebounding from Hurricane Sandy putting us 6 feet under water," the block association's petition says. "There are many commercial spots for rent in Red Hook - some literally around the corner - that are better-suited for this second location of a Greenpoint Bar. And to be clear, we are not against drinking. Please, visit Sunny's, The Good Fork, Hometown BBQ or Ft. Defiance - all good, long-term neighbors."

Click here for more information about the liquor license meeting and here to read more about the petition.

Read the full Red Hook Star-Revue story here.

Image via Google Streetview