NIMBYs Are Annoyed About Paulie Gee’s New Greenpoint Slice Joint Opening

Uber-popular Greenpoint pizzeria Paulie Gee’s pizza-by-the-slice offshoot is facing a roadblock in the path to opening. Owner Paulie Giannone wants to open Paulie Gee’s Slice Joint at 110 Franklin St. in Greenpoint, this time serving classic New York slices instead of the inventive wood-fired pies he’s known for at his flagship. But the residents of nearby Noble Street are blasting Giannone’s request for a liquor license — saying that it will disrupt the street. Nearly 150 people have signed a petition against it.

Giannone is requesting a beer, wine, and cider license for the new restaurant, which he says will be an opportunity for people to take pizzas home. He's told Eater that it will have "the spirit is an old ‘60s New York slice joint," with bright orange booths, a bar, and simple slices like plain and pepperoni.

But residents, who addressed a petition to Brooklyn Community Board 1, still say that the new business would be "too loud" and bring "excessive noise, drunk behavior, garbage" to the street. They organized a meeting earlier this week to talk, which Giannone attended. "Sports bars and pizza joints are already extremely well represented in the neighborhood," Anna Godbersen writes on the petition. "We don't need more of that. This is a great residential area, and a place like Paulie Gee's — which lives on big buzz, long lines, and high turnover — would be disruptive to so many lives."

The restaurateur says that he originally planned to turn the back room into something with a sports bar vibe, but he ultimately decided to tone it down and turn it into more room for the pizzeria. He also agreed to only let patrons walk in through Franklin instead of Noble. He now lives on the street, right by the new slice joint, and he thinks noise from passing trucks will be more disruptive than his restaurant. Still, he wants to "allay their fears." "I want to be a good neighbor. I don't think they believe me," he says. "I tried to tell them, this is not a business for me. This is my life."

Paulie Gee’s Slice Joint’s property sits at the corner of Noble Street and Franklin Street. Noble is a residential street, but Franklin is fairly busy commercial street, with both French restaurant Le Gamin and the Brooklyn Expo Center as immediate neighbors. A slew of other bars, like Pencil Factory and Broken Land, are a block away. The full community board will vote on whether or not they want to approve Giannone’s license on Wednesday night. Still, even if they say no, the State Liquor Authority could still decide to grant it. Stay tuned for more info as it becomes available.

• Residents Opposed to Paulie Gee's Slice Joint Beer & Wine License
• Greenpoint Pizza King Paulie Gee's to Open A Classic New York Slice Joint [ENY]