The City that Always Sleeps: Neighborhood group opposes letting Newbury Street taco place stay open until 1 a.m.

Update: Board grants permission to stay open later.

The Boston Licensing Board could decide tomorrow whether to let La Neta, 255 Newbury St., extend its closing time from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m.

At a hearing today, owner Allan Rodriguez's attorney, John Connell, said the taco restaurant gets frequent requests for later hours, in particular from local hospitality workers, who'd love to eat at his place after they get off work. Connell said there are at least ten other restaurants within a few blocks that already have permission to stay open that late.

The Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay, however, opposes the later hours, but said it could live with midnight.

While allowing that the group has "a good relationship" with Rodriguez, NABB representative Conrad Armstrong noted the restaurant is on the north side of the street, with Commonwealth Avenue residential buildings backing up on the commercial buildings there and that, if anything, NABB wants to try to reduce all hours on that side of the street to no later than midnight.

Rodriguez did agree to a request from NABB to leave the current closing time of his patio at 10 p.m. rather than seeking to extend it to 11 p.m.

In January, the board rejected a proposal for a 4 a.m. closing time for a taqueria on Commonwealth Avenue near BU's Agganis Arena, scaling that back to 1 a.m.