Owner Puts Townhouse Back on Market After CB2 Rejection

Yesterday, a Villager complained on Curbed about the owner of historic townhouse 16 Minetta Lane, alleging that he, a nightlife impresario, was planning a sex club for the late designer Robert Isabel's former mansion. The owner went before Community Board 2 last month for a liquor license appeal but withdrew after witnessing the neighborhood outrage.

Today the owner tells Curbed that he was planning an upscale French restaurant called Isabel for the townhouse, not a sex dungeon, and that he's abandoning his plans after seeing the community's response, "I have the money, I could have fought for the liquor license, but after seeing how nasty people can be, I just didn't want to put myself through it." He assumes the neighbors launched a whisper campaign against him because they don't want liquor of any kind.

No matter. He put the townhouse back on the market and figures he'll make a serious profit when it sells to one of the celebrities, supermodels and countless other potential buyers that have toured the space.
· Minetta Townhouse Owner Speaks: 'Never a Sex Club' [Curbed]