Controversial Park Slope bar Union Hall suffered a setback on Thursday night as a community board subcommittee said the tavern should lose its right to serve booze.
Union Hall, which has been open since 2006 on Union Street near the corner of Fifth Avenue, was painted as a divisive, noisy menace by a dozen people — but also as a great addition to the neighborhood by its fans.
“Expecting to be able to sleep was an impossibility in our apartment,” said Matthew Landfield, who lived next-door to the bar, but moved because the daily noise was too intrusive for them.
Other neighbors had similar tales about sleepless nights caused by a steady flow of revelers in and out of the bar.
But Union Hall’s defenders depicted a cultural treasure, known for top-notch musical performances, comedic acts and lectures by Nobel Prize winners — not to mention saying the book-lined men’s-club-style pub is a comfortable place to have a drink.
“They took an abandoned commercial space and turned it into something magical,” said Margaret Mittelbach, who organizes the regular chats by luminaries from the field of science.
After a lengthy debate, the Community Board 6 Land Use Committee voted to ask the State Liquor Authority to deny the bar a renewal of its booze license, which set to expire on May 31 — though the committee did say it would reconsider the issue if Union Hall could cut down on noise, preferably by closing earlier than 4 am.
The full board will vote on the resolution on Wednesday — and several pro–Union Hall members have indicated that it’ll be a bar brawl.
Community Board 6 will meet May 14 at Borough Hall (209 Joralemon St., at the corner of Court Street), 6:30 pm. Call (718) 643-3027 for info.
