Dolly’s Swing & Dive (146 Wythe Ave.), a Williamsburg neighborhood bar, has temporarily closed. Dolly’s first opened in 2019 and relocated to Wythe Avenue this past January.
Earlier this week on Instagram, Dolly’s announced that the abrupt temporary closure. The post said that the team “spent the greater part of the last year relocating Dolly’s Bar…and engaged in legal disputes” with Dolly’s former landlord.
“This same landlord has done everything in his power to stop the transfer of our liquor license to our new location before the Community Board and State Liquor Authority. As a result of his efforts, we are now forced to submit a new application,” Dolly’s explained.
“In the interim, we must temporarily close our doors to our beloved community and dear friends as we wait on the application process to run its course,” Dolly’s wrote. “You will all be deeply missed…We will be back soon, stronger than ever.”
Dolly’s co-founder Raffaello Van Couten told Greenpointers that the team does not know when they will be able to reopen Dolly’s. The team declined to comment further regarding the landlord situation.
Update June 12, 2026, Dolly’s former landlord, Mark I. Nagawiecki, sent the following statement to Greenpointers:
“I am not responsible for the SLA license issues at Dolly’s new location. Personally, I am not sure why everyone is so surprised about the closure. BK CB#1 voted unanimously to deny the license at that location in both May 2025 and September 2025 due to opposition by the neighbors. I am proudly part of that group of neighbors as I have lived on N8th for 50 years.
As far as the license opposition, BK CB#1 has a clear policy that 4am licenses are not appropriate in residential areas. This location has never been a bar/tavern. It has been a grocery store, a furniture store, a living space, a deli, a restaurant with problematic late night bar hours, and most recently was a furniture store again. It has shared walls on every side with buildings that house seniors. It has seniors across the street from every angle. This is a unique corner on the Northside that is home to multiple buildings with 3 -4 generations residing together within them. We are talking about longtime residents that are in their 90s, 80s, 70s and 60s. Dolly’s has refused to meet with them, they have refused to do any sound mitigation, and they have lied about endless details in their original application.”