Studio B’gone!
That’s the message that North Brooklyn’s Community Board 1 sent to the Banker Street club Studio B last week, voting unanimously to recommend that the state not renew the divisive disco’s liquor license.
The advisory vote last Tuesday comes after months of conflict between club owners and neighbors, who have accused the venue of hosting noisy — and illegal — rooftop parties, welcoming raunchy “Girls Gone Wild”–style nudity, and leaving the sidewalks filthy after events.
“There have been hundreds of complaints against them,” said Public Safety Chair Mieszko Kalita. “It is my responsibility to the neighborhood to deny the license. I can only hope the State Liquor Authority will follow through.”
Opposition against the club mounted last summer, when neighbors pleaded CB1 to recommend the disapproval of the venue’s application for a cabaret license.
Kalita’s committee did just that — and days later the city revoked the venue’s permits after discovering that exits that would be unsafe in an emergency evacuation.
But earlier this year, techno DJs and nightlife promoters Josh Houtkin and Dave Pianka took over as Studio B as the club’s new management with the promise to attempt to make peace with the community.
“We want things to be cool with our neighbors — that’s really important to us,” said Houtkin during a February interview.
“It’s going to take a lot to overcome the stigma that the club has, but we want the neighbors to feel good being around us, we want the club-goers to feel good coming here,” he added, noting that the club installed double doors to prevent noise, and hired employees to sweep the sidewalk.
But Kalita says that the noise complaints haven’t stopped.
In fact, one neighbor wrote in a comment on The Brooklyn Paper’s award-winning Web site on May 20 that revelers on the club’s rooftop space — which has not yet approved a certificate of occupancy from the city — have kept her awake at night.
“I am forced to listen to window-rattling beats till the wee hours,” said the Brooklyn Paper reader, who gave her name as Merri. “So much for Josh and Dave wanting things to be cool with their neighbors.”
Houtkin and Pianka did not return calls.
