Thursday, April 30, 2015

On the May CB3/SLA docket: Takers for the former Back Forty space; new Ravi DeRossi venture


[The former Back Forty space on Avenue B]

CB3 released its slate of meetings for May yesterday … including for the SLA licensing committee.

For starters, the meeting is May 18 at the CB3 office (BYOB), 59 E. Fourth St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery.

Here's a look at some of the East Village-related items. (We don't have any info on the applicants just yet.)

Applications within Saturated Areas

• JMR Dining LLC, 190-192 Ave B (op)

An applicant for the former Back Forty space. The seemingly popular restaurant rather abruptly shut down after service on Dec. 21.

• Benemon (Drak Inc), 171 Ave A (op)

And an applicant for the former BAD Burger space between East 10th Street and East 11th Street. BAD closed in March after three-plus years.

Sidewalk Cafe Application

• Root & Bone (Root & Bone LLC), 200 E 3rd St (unenclosed)

Alterations

• Hearth (Hearth Restaurant Investors LLC), 403 E 12th St (op/alt/extend license to sidewalk cafe)

We discussed the possible sidewalk cafe last July.

New Liquor License Applications

• The Northern Spy Food Company (The Northern Spy Food Co LLC), 511 E 12th St (upgrade/op)

• Koufuku LLC, 342 E 6th St (op)

• Hou Yi Spicy Inc, 97 2nd Ave (bw)

As we first reported back in March, Hou Yi Hot Pot is converting the former laundromat into a restaurant here between East Fifth Street and East Sixth Street.

Items not heard at Committee (no vote, no public input)

• Verdura (Derossi Veg LLC), 130 E 7th St (bw)

Gingersnap's left this space just west of Avenue A back in January. The address for the LLC listed for the applicant matches up with the address for Ravi DeRossi's (Death & Co., Amor y Amargo, etc.) HQ. Looks like he's coming back to East Seventh Street after the Bourgeois Pig left the neighborhood. Stay tuned for more details on his latest project.

• Boxcar Lounge (Oops of New York Inc), 168 Ave B (op/corporate change)

• Dan and John's Wings (Dan and John's LLC), 135 1st Ave (bw)

Some beer for your wings.

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b=beer only | wb=wine & beer only | op=liquor, wine, & beer | alt=alterations

21 comments:

nygrump said...

Here it is folks, another fucking bar for your intoxicification pleasure trying to slime its way into the residential buildings. CB3 will welcome another drug dealer with open arms!
Koufuku LLC, 342 E 6th St (op)

Anonymous said...

Please PLEASE no sidewalk seating for Root & Bone! Poco Restaurant and the one next to it, combined with Mama's, who somehow obtained sidewalk seating, have destroyed that corner and we cannot take anymore loud brunches crowding the sidewalks on weekends. Please!

Anonymous said...

@nygrump - CB 3 has long had a policy to deny full liquor licenses on residential side streets if they are not on the corner. There is precedent here for a denial. If this is a location that has never had a liquor license of any kind before and is indeed on a residential side street and people who live on the block attend the CB meeting and voice their concerns, then there is a strong possibility CB 3 would deny a full liquor license at this location. There are numerous groups of residents all over the neighborhood attending CB 3 meetings and making such arguments and in many cases winning,so if people organize this can be stopped. That said if there is no opposition to this license by residents who will be impacted and no one at the meeting to remind CB 3 of this policy and look them in the eye when they cast their votes , there is a chance CB 3 would not stick to it's long held policy for full liquor on residential side streets. So the people on 6th street should rise-up and let their voices be heard - what's the worst thing that happens - the people win!

AveB said...

@Anonymous

In a city where there is so little outdoor space for residents and businesses alike, seasonal sidewalk seating is a godsend. If you can't handle density and noise, then you probably shouldn't live in the largest and most densely-populated city in the US. There are many other places that employ single-use zoning if you want residential areas segregated from commercial areas.

Anonymous said...

@AveB - Your kidding I hope. The places noted by another resident are not "seasonal sidewalk seating", but instead a public nuisance with people drinking way too much and spilling out all over the sidewalk. Mama's bar and Poco are not quaint little sidewalk cafe's serving nice meals to nice respectful people, but shitshows that attract mobs from all over the city to get drunk. Poco claims to have the best boozy brunch on the island http://www.poconyc.com/brunch. If you live above or next door from one of these places and you would still say the same thing, then props to you but if not . . .

tyjk said...

that ravi guy really, really sucks.
i used to work at his short lived "jane's sweet buns" bakery on st. marks. while working there part-time as a second job, he offered me a full-time position to help with recipes/menu planning, etc.. saw an opportunity so quit my full time job and took the offer. i was there for a few months getting paid in cash (sometimes waited weeks a for one week's pay), patiently waited for them to fulfill my request to put me on the books, but instead decided to convert the bakery into a full on beer bar (now proletariat), close and fire all the bakery staff with absolutely no notice at all. no severance pay, no other job offers.
i hope that creep's "new venture" fails miserably, but it probably won't. *sigh...

Ave B said...

@Anonymous

I'm well-aware that those two restaurants attract loud and disrespectful crowds, but that is not at all specific to the fact that they have outdoor seating. Poco and Mama's Bar would continue to be nuisances with or without it.

Root & Bone is in an entirely different league than Poco and Mama's Bar. Rambunctious crowds seeking cheap alcohol and bottomless brunch are not going to Root & Bone — plain and simple. People go there because of its elevated cuisine, and it caters to a very different demographic. Perhaps CB3 should exercise more discretion when deciding which establishments should be allowed to have sidewalk seating. However, there's no reason to bar Root & Bone from having sidewalk seating just because two completely unrelated establishments can't handle that privilege.

Walter said...

"People go there because of its elevated cuisine," The only elevated cuisine I have ever partaken in was on Jerome Avenue in the Bronx.

Anonymous said...

@ Ave B - nice to hear from the folks who work for or own Root and Bone here . . .CB 3 doesn't control who has sidewalk seating or not, DCA does and this isn't about who is more deserving, it is about the fact that there are enough sidewalk cafe's choking our sidewalks and making it difficult for pedestrians to walk, no less people with ambulatory issues to get around. Everyone says they attract a better crowd then the next place, but frankly alcohol and sidewalk seating are easily found all over the hood and on Ave B, so we don't need anymore. If you are concerned about access to outdoor space I would suggest TSP, East River Park - which is huge and beautiful or one of the many community gardens. Perhaps those locations don't appeal to the "very different demographic" you seem to imply you and those who frequent Root and Bone belong to. The EV is not lacking for outdoor space to drink and dine there is plenty.

Anonymous said...

If you can't take the bars and restuarants in the East Village, why live here? The energy is what makes it.

Crazy Eddie said...

"If you can't take the bars and restuarants in the East Village, why live here?"

Just another variation of the "If you don't like noise in the EV, move to...." line.

This is a Zombie line, usually spoken by (but not always) Rubes, that NEVER seems to die. Why?

Anonymous said...

The sidewalks are public property. The streets downtown are narrow and were not built to the scale that the cafes would wish for. Not being able to walk on the sidewalks is a public nuisance. Take back our streets. If you want to live in Disney, move to Florida.

Walter said...

The place that bugs me the most is "Virage" on 7th and 2nd. First, they use half the sidewalk for their "al fresco" dining area. then they appropriate the space left between curb and tables to put their menu-holders. Bad neighbors!

Anonymous said...

"If you can't take the bars and restuarants in the East Village, why live here? The energy is what makes it."

Wrong, wrong, wrong. The noise coming out of Poco is absolutely insane, and Poco, along with the other restaurants on that intersection, have turned it into our own little version of the LES's "Hell Square". Kudos to anyone who comes up with a nickname for this abomination.

My wife and I try and go out to eat at a lot of these places and always end up sitting next to these super-young moon-faced man-babies who are constantly talking about their investments, their life plans to retire (- note: they're usually about 22 years old), etc. And when they talk they talk LOUDLY! Even if it's usually some quiet little place these guys' voices are BOOMING across the tables. Ride these guys out on a rail - they're the worst.

Anonymous said...

I wouldn't be surprised if it is a stripper bar....

Gojira said...

"In a city where there is so little outdoor space for...businesses...seasonal sidewalk seating is a godsend" - ya know, for the last century and a half businesses did not expect to be able to expand onto the sidewalk in order to make more money, they confined themselves to the interiors of the spaces they were renting. There is no "as of right" for them to expand like sponges just because it generates higher profits, especially since doing so more often than not detracts from the quality of life for neighbors.

Anonymous said...

"My wife and I try and go out to eat at a lot of these places and always end up sitting next to these super-young moon-faced man-babies who are constantly talking about their investments, their life plans to retire (- note: they're usually about 22 years old), etc. And when they talk they talk LOUDLY! Even if it's usually some quiet little place these guys' voices are BOOMING across the tables. Ride these guys out on a rail - they're the worst."

This entire comment is ageist at best and racist at worst. It works both ways folks.

Anonymous said...

@nygrump
Will unfortunately have to wait for questionnaire on CB 3 website. They really need to make these applicants submit them earlier.

Questionnaire will show specifics such as: proposed hrs. of operation, closed facade, open facade(acordian doors installed, outdoor cafe, use of backyard, music, how many full op's are within 500 feet,

As far as I can see you already have The Eddy right next door(restaurant and bar), La Esquina, Mancors, Apna Masalci, as well as many restaurants serving b/w only.

I would oppose for full liquor period. Already a number of places within 500 feet. No public benefit to block of restaurants, already have Japanese Restaurant on block serving b/w. Residential side street.

AveB said...

@Anonymous:

I don't own Root & Bone, although I do enjoying dining there sometimes. Also, I frequently run/walk at the East River Park, but I still don't believe that the city has adequate outdoor space.

@CrazyEddie:

You can write it off, but that argument is extremely valid. If you don't have the tolerance for noise and a high population density then the East Village probably isn't a good place for you to live. It's asinine trying to insulate yourself from the massive NYU presence and young professional population that resides in the neighborhood. Like it or not, these residents drink alcohol and partake in night life on a regular basis. That is a trend you nor I will be able to curb.

@Gojira:

I completely agree. These establishments are not entitled to sidewalk seating. However, I support giving them that privilege because I enjoy outdoor dining myself. The sacrifice of having to walk around sidewalk seating and hear noise from people eating outside is worth it to me and something I fully expected when deciding to move to a neighborhood with such a robust restaurant scene.

Anonymous said...

"...the massive NYU presence and young professional population that resides in the neighborhood. Like it or not, these residents drink alcohol and partake in night life on a regular basis. That is a trend you nor I will be able to curb."

Wrong, it is curbable - using methods like denying outdoor seating and excessive liquor licenses. That's what this is about. Try to keep up.

Anonymous said...

"CB 3 has long had a policy to deny full liquor licenses on residential side streets if they are not on the corner."

??? not true