Leader of Allston civic group says proposed pizza place would screw Roxbury

Allston Civic Association President Paul Berkeley found a new reason to oppose a proposed Stone Hearth Pizza at Barry's Corner: The beer and wine license it would use comes from a restaurant in an area of Roxbury the city has said doesn't have enough restaurants serving drinks with meals.

At a Boston Licensing Board hearing on Stone Hearth Pizza's proposal to buy the alcohol license from the owner of the defunct Mississippi's in Roxbury this morning, Berkeley noted that several years ago, the city convinced the state legislature to increase the number of liquor licenses in Boston to dole out permits in areas considered underserved, such as much of Roxbury (Sen. Dianne Wilkerson was recently sentenced to 3 1/2 years in federal prison for her role in obtaining the new licenses after accepting a bribe from a Roxbury businessman working for the FBI).

Because of that, Berkeley said it was hypocritical for city officials such as Mayor Tom Menino to support the proposed license transfer out of Roxbury and into "a community that feels like they've been saturated with liquor licenses." He said there's no need for beer and wine along Western Avenue because of the collapse of the local retail and housing market spurred by Harvard's takeover of large parts of the neighborhood. All Stone Hearth Pizza would do, he said, would be to draw in people from outside the area.

Berkeley has said he would oppose the restaurant even without a liquor license.

Representatives from the offices of both Mayor Menino and City Councilor Mark Ciommo reiterated their support for the proposal, saying it would help revitalize a desolate stretch of Western Avenue and said they have gotten numerous letters of support for the proposed restaurant from nearby residents.

The board actually approved a beer and wine license for the restaurant in November, under regulations relating to urban renewal districts. However, the board rescinded that license after Berkeley noticed the proposed location - a gas station bought and shut down by Harvard - is outside the urban-renewal zone created for the housing project across the street.

Restaurant lawyer Dennis Quilty said that faced with that, his client had no choice but to seek an available license to buy. The Mississippi's license "was one of the very few that was available for purchase," he said. The state limits the total number of licenses in Boston.

The licensing board votes tomorrow on whether to approve the sale of the license.