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Locals Fear Sushi Spot in Former La Baron Space Will Be Bad for Chinatown

 32 Mulberry St., formerly the site of 3-story nightclub Le Baron.
32 Mulberry St., formerly the site of 3-story nightclub Le Baron.
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CHINATOWN — Restaurateurs aiming to open a Japanese joint in a controversial nightclub space withdrew their application for a liquor license on Monday after being met with heavy resistance from Chinatown residents.

Chef Jake Smith has teamed up with local restaurateur Ron Castellano and renowned sushi chef Kazuo Yoshida, of Williamsburg restaurant 1 or 8, to open an eatery at 32 Mulberry St. — a space formerly occupied by 3-story nightclub Le Baron, which locals say was a scourge on the neighborhood.

But after Community Board 3’s State Liquor Authority subcommittee grilled the applicants on the space’s history and their intentions for the space, they were told they should withdraw their application altogether, and to carry out more community outreach if they hope to score an eventual approval. 

“My sense is, and I’m going to be very frank with you, that you walked into a neighborhood that you don’t really know, and it comes across to people who have lived there and in the vicinity,” said board chairwoman Gigi Li, who lives two blocks away from the establishment, after the applicants admitted they had not conducted targeted outreach efforts in the building.

The new restaurant would hold both an upscale omakase bar, with a steep price point of around $100 per person, as well as a main dining room serving more affordable dishes, said Smith. 

But the joint’s closing time of 4 a.m. was a huge red flag for board members — most high-quality sushi restaurants close by midnight, noted Li, who did not buy Smith’s explanation that the spot was meant to cater to late-working food industry types. Other community members took it as indication that the spot would change the neighborhood for the worse, bringing in crowds of interlopers and changing Chinatown’s character.

The board — and a handful of neighbors to the spot — also dredged up the location’s troubling history in the neighborhood.

The now-shuttered Le Baron, which was partly operated by Castellano, polluted the otherwise quiet Mulberry Street with raucous nightlife crowds, loud noise, and lines of black cars stretching down the block, locals said.

“It almost tore my family apart,” said William, whose family has lived in a neighboring building for roughly 30 years, of the late-night ruckus.

“Not once since they closed have I come out in the morning to find my stoop drenched in pee,” noted another neighbor, asking the board to reject the application.

The applicants ultimately agreed to step down and to engage more with the neighborhood before reapplying, ensuring concerned board members that they did have an interest in being good neighbors.

“We do very much want to cater to the community,” said Smith, backpedaling on previous statements that the joint would cater to those in the food industry.

Castellano clarified that he would be willing to take his name off the application if the Le Baron association was a hurdle to the project.

The 4 a.m. close time, however, was non-negotiable, said Castellano. 

The restaurateur said the team hoped to come before the board again next month.