Updated: This item is no longer on the July SLA docket.
The Black Rose, the bar that
recently lost its space at 117 Avenue A, is looking to move a block to the south and reopen in the former corner home of Benny's Burritos, according to
paperwork filed ahead of next month's CB3-SLA committee meeting.
In late April, the Marshal took possession of the bar space between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place on behalf of landlord Steve Croman. There were accusation that Croman forced the bar out, even removing the boiler.
As for Benny's, the restaurant closed on
Nov. 29, 2014. The corner space at Sixth Street has sat empty since then. The Benny's awning remains up...

[
Photo from yesterday]
Benny's owner Mark Merker said that they were having trouble staying afloat, as costs and rents rose while competition increased from Chipotle and other restaurants that served burritos. Benny's limped along for a few months with a smaller, mostly to-go spot next door. They closed in
February 2015. This space became a 99¢ pizza place called 99¢ Pizza, which seems to do brisk business.
There's not much more information about the new Black Rose at this month. The full questionnaire isn't online yet. (Updated: The PDF of the questionnaire is
here.) And it will be somewhat new given that much of the bar's interior
ended up on the corner of Avenue A and Seventh Street, where Jerry launched the
short-lived Tompkins Square Park Art Bar.
The July CB3-SLA committee meeting is July 17 at 6:30 p.m. at a rather strange venue — Ian Schrager's
luxury Public Hotel, 215 Chrystie St.