Al Capone (AP)
(
)
P.J. Hanley’s, Brooklyn’s oldest bar and rumored Al Capone hangout, is closing its doors after 139 years.
The last day for the Irish pub, at Court Street and Fourth Place, will be Saturday, James McGown, the bar’s owner, told The Post.
P.J. Hanley Corp., the entity that owns the bar, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Friday.
McGown, who bought the tavern in 2005 from Hanley’s descendants, said he plans to auction off the rights to the business — including its lease, assets and trade name — on March 11. He also plans to sell the adjoining pizza parlor, South Brooklyn Pizza.
The pub opened in 1874 as Ryan’s before it was purchased by P.J. Hanley in the 1950s. Local legend has it that Prohibition Era gangster Capone brought his guests there after his wedding at St. Mary Star of the Sea down the street.
McGown blamed the bankruptcy in part on a dispute with the landlord, an entity controlled by Hanley’s heirs.
“They realized the rent was worth more than they were getting paid,” McGown said.
In the bankruptcy filing, McGown estimates the lease, which runs through 2020, to be worth $1 million.
He said he pays $6,000 a month in rent based on a contract he signed with the Hanley family partnership, Kiwi Pub Corp. He estimates the market rate to be $20,000 a month. Kiwi Pub Corp. didn’t return a request for comment.
McGown said bad management also had a hand in the bar’s demise, saying a recent manager failed to “insure that all products enjoyed by patrons was [sic] paid for,” according to the bankruptcy filing.
Last year the company that controls McGown’s East Village pizzeria, also called South Brooklyn, filed for bankruptcy, although it is still operating.
In 2010, McGown made headlines over a heated dispute with his neighbors for allegedly turning the basement of his TriBeCa condo into a venue for “extreme party events,” complete with a stripper pole and “fire massages.” The dispute has been settled.