Residents and elected officials are again demanding the state block a controversial nightclub from reopening in Gravesend after the State Liquor Authority asked Commnity Board 15 to reconsider its opposition to the bar.
State Liquor Authority Spokesman William Crowley said he wanted to give Mark Shteynshlyuger, the owner of Pleasure, a nightclub he plans to reopen on Avenue U between E. Eighth and E. Ninth streets, one more chance to win support from the community before making a final decision on his liquor license application.
But the members of the board say it’s not likely there will be an approval — and some pols agree.
“[The first nightclub] was a plague on the community, generating numerous criminal court summonses, alcohol violations and complaints,” Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz (D–Sheepshead Bay) said. “Given the past record of the owners, I have no confidence that they will comply” with the law the second time around.
And some neighbors also feel the club is a bad fit.
“A new club would be terrible,” said one woman, who declined to give her name. “We don’t need that in the neighborhood.”
Shteynshlyuger opened Pleasure in 2006, then closed it two years later amid neighbors’ complaints of noise, underage drinking, fights and wild after-hours parties.
In December, he and a business partner quietly filed plans to reopen the space as a high-end restaurant and lounge called Pleasure Island. They began renovating the shuttered space this year.
But their comeback hit a snag in June when CB15 recommended the state deny his request for a new liquor license, claiming the original nightclub was bad for the neighborhood.
On Oct. 19, the State Liquor Authority threw the club a life preserver when it sent the club’s liquor license application back to CB15 for further review.
Another rejection from CB15 wouldn’t kill the club’s chances of serving up booze, as the board’s vote is only a recommendation and is often overruled by the state.
Shteynshlyuger could not be reached for comment and the phone number listed for his attorney, George Karp, was out of service.
Reach reporter Daniel Bush at dbush@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260-8310.
