CB6 OKs Whole Foods and Bar Near Barclays

Last night Community Board 6 voted in favor of the variance request Whole Foods has filed with the city in order to build a supermarket in Gowanus. The board also voted to approve a liquor license request for Players, the somewhat controversial bar opening up near the Barclays Center on Pacific Street. The Whole Foods vote follows one by the board’s Land Use Committee last week in which the variance request was approved conditionally. The committee asked that another traffic study be conducted a year after the store is built and also requested that the store close at 10 p.m., not 11 p.m. A second motion was approved to request a letter from the EPA about whether the project could negatively impact the Superfund cleanup. Last night the motions were approved by the full board as well, though some people expressed concern over the traffic problems and possible environmental hazards during construction. Pardon Me For Asking has a post arguing that the board did not discuss the validity of Whole Foods’ claim that the site’s unique physical conditions create financial hardship, thus giving it the right to be granted the necessary variance. She writes: “Had the Board seriously debated the validity of Whole Foods’ assertions, they would have had to agree that the company created its own hardship,” considering Whole Foods willingly purchased a polluted site that isn’t zoned for a supermarket as big as the one the company intends to build. Click through to read about the board’s discussion of two bars near the Barclays Center…

Also on the docket was the liquor license request for the bar at 604 Pacific Street, Players. The bar’s owners had met with the community and agreed to a bunch of stipulations that the community has requested it adhere to. The only stipulation that the owner didn’t agree to is the request that the bar close at 2 a.m. on Thursdays; he wants to keep it open until 4 a.m. Board members also discussed 602 Pacific Street, the bar next door that has already opened but never appeared before the community board. There is currently a discussion in the works between community members and the North Flatbush Avenue BID to hold a forum with the bar owners much like the ones held with the owners of 604 Pacific and Prime Six.
CB6 Committee Okays Whole Foods Build [Brownstoner]
No Dancing at Atlantic Yards Watering Hole [Brownstoner]
Community Airs Qualms About Bar Near Barclays [Brownstoner]