Club Owner Oks Name Change

The owner of a new club in Sunnyside Gardens plans to change the lounge’s name and make necessary alterations in the building to appease community members, who worried that Punto G would be an X-rated venue.
“I think I’m going to open the windows again,” said Lida Barona, owner of Punto G, laughing. Barona said that during a meeting with Community Board 2, she was asked to darken windows, remove some windows, and change the entrance to the club from Barnett Avenue to 48th Street so that neighbors would not be bothered by noise and light from the club. However, at a protest outside the club, located 47-15 Barnett Avenue, residents complained Punto G’s setup with blackened windows and few exits were similar to many strip clubs.
“I don’t know why the residents keep saying these things. They started making stories about the name of the business,” Barona said, explaining that she already owns two Colombian restaurants - in Astoria and Rego Park. “I’m going to change whatever they want to change.”
Barona said that she also plans to replace the logo for her new restaurant, which drew criticism from local residents for its sexual connotation. Punto G translates to G Spot. The new name will be “Excalibar,” and the restaurant will be a combination of an eatery, bar and lounge with a small space for dancing, Barona said. However, the name of the restaurant corporation will remain Punto G.
Barona said that the sexual connotation of the club’s name was not intended. The original name, Punto Oro, which translates to Golden Point, was already taken by another restaurant.
Although she plans to apply for both a cabaret and liquor license, Barona said that she has not filed the application yet, and community leaders have already asked that the club’s application be carefully scrutinized.
“[The clubs’ owners] still has a lot more to fo to prove they are going to be good neighbors,” said Councilman Eric Gioia.
The club’s location is less than 500 feet away from a residentially zoned area, which prohibits its owners from opening a strip club, and across the street from a park and playground.
Even having two establishments with liquor licenses located across from one another worries residents that the area will become very noisy at night, said Community Board 2 member Pat O’Brien, chairman for City Services and the Public Safety Committee.
Sunnyside resident Bobita Das, who is the mother of two boys, ages eight and one, said that the area generally shuts down after 7 p.m. “With two schools [in the area], [a strip club or bar] would not be good.”
Residents have already complained of problems with a billiard hall across the street, where patrons have been arrested for gambling and bartenders have been charged with serving alcohol to minors.
“Still in fairness to the [Punto G] applicant, when we have asked for information, they have responded,” O’Brien said.
O’Brien also said that the owners have expressed no indication that they would open an adult establishment during four meetings and a chain of correspondence the Community Board has had with the club’s owners since July 2005.