Late night in front of Le Souk

A few weeks back, we noted some work and what not at the former Le Souk space on Avenue B... and, a tipster was curious why he or she saw people coming out of Le Souk at 4, 5, 6 a.m....

Now, the tipster has passed along a photo from the other night with the following note: "Le Souk 4.30 am. 18 people come out to smoke."



A little dark, of course (what, want the person to use a flash?)... but you can kind of see a group of people congregating in front of the Le Souk space...

Meanwhile, a walk by the Le Souk space revealed dozens of cigarette butts on the sidewalk out front... quite a few for in front of a shuttered business....





Anyway, as we've pointed out before, Le Souk still looks like a functioning restaurant at a quick glance...and the windows are covered with thick curtains... and what looks like a trash bag over the front-door window...



Anyway, there's probably a logical explanation for all this...

Previously.
Plus:
Is Le Souk still doing business on Avenue B?

We'll always have Le Souk

The last time I looked inside former Avenue B menace Le Souk, the place looked as if it had become a supply closet...



Meanwhile, a tipster notes that work appears to be happening inside and outside the space... though there are no permits on file with the DOB



And! The tipster asks, Why are people always coming out of Le Souk at 4, 5, 6 a.m.?

Just the like good ol' days...

Finest Pizza and Deli on Avenue B has closed

Finest Pizza and Deli on Avenue B and Fourth Street is now officially closed.




Despite cutting back their hours in recent months, business was apparently OK. According to a source, the owner abruptly closed up the shop on Sunday...a source says the store may reopen as another (no beer) deli. Meanwhile, the source says Abdul, who many people liked in the neighborhood, is out of a job (no warning, no severance) and is looking for something in sanitation.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Finest Pizza and Deli not closing because Le Souk went away

Disarmed and dangerous on Avenue B: Pizza statue maimed

Le Souk owners offer new sign to explain what happened

A new sign adorns the door at the former bane of Avenue B, Le Souk... and how are they describing what went down there...?

Le Souk now a supply closet

Given the long, tumultuous history surrounding Le Souk, it's understandable that some Avenue B residents remain uneasy about the now-shuttered hotspot... it doesn't help that Le Souk still looks like a functioning restaurant at a quick glance.



Though the menu is from the summer 2008... Still, there was that private party on New Year's Eve.



However, take a look inside...




Or maybe this is the latest in nightlife trends: Party as if you're in a supply closet!

Finest Pizza and Deli not closing because Le Souk went away

In recent months we've noticed that Finest Pizza & Deli on Avenue B at Fourth Street was no longer open 24 hours... A Curbed commenter wrote on this post yesterday:

"Because of La Souk being shut down, the bodega on Avenue B/4th street (next door) will not be renewing his lease. His profits are down $2000.00 a month since their closing. I liked it so much more when someone complained about the noise they were told to 'Shut Up'."




That's just not true. There has been a minor movement to show what a loss Le Souk's closing has been on the neighborhood... those comments like, "Le Souk made the LES upscale."

At the CB3/SLA meeting in October, a Le Souk proponent stood up and said: "the community was in shambles while Le Souk was closed." The argument focused on economics and the idea that this is not the time to shutter a club that brings much business to the neighborhood.

In any event, the Finest Pizza & Deli is NOT closing because Le Souk closed. Straight from an umimpeachable source:

Abdul reports that there just isn't the business necessary for them to stay open late. They will stay open until around midnight or so on normal nights and possibly a bit later on weekends or if it gets crowded. He stated that it has nothing to do with Le Souk's closing, that the business had been dying for a while.

Is Le Souk still doing business on Avenue B?

Last fall, troubled hookah hotspot Le Souk closed after losing its liquor license in a long, contentious battle.

And this rather final sign greeted potential Le Soukers....



But, in recent weeks, that sign has disappeared. Meanwhile, all the usual Zagat/Time Out/accolades stuff remains in the front windows...along with a menu. (The photo below was taken on Sunday.) If you didn't know any better walking by, then you'd think the place might still be open. And maybe it is.



A trusted EV Grieve reader reported that Le Souk was open for business this past New Year's Eve. Said the reader:

"[I]t must have been hired out for a private party, because I understand they can't sell alcohol, but perhaps they can give it away? There were black-tie Secret-Service-looking bouncers out front too. It was just as loud as usual at 2 am ... but with fewer people, and all in much fancier dress. Not too surprising seeing as how it was NYE."

So far, we've been unsuccessful in tracking down anyone who may have been at this alleged soiree... Is this the first in a line of other private parties to use the Le Souk space?

Since Le Souk has closed...

So yeah, since nightlife hellhole Le Souk has moved on ... the doorways of the adjacent apartment buildings on Avenue B between Third Street and Fourth Street have been painted...

Now!




Then!



Previously.

Readers respond to Le Souk's closure

[Image via Eater]

Several people left comments yesterday in response to Le Souk closing up on Avenue B. A sampling:

First Le souk has been on Ave B more than 8 yrs. (get your facts straight bro the club has been there since 1999)

This place has been closed by several parties (no pun intended).

1 The peeps who moved in years after Le Souk and several other biz wrestled the area away from the crime that kept these same people hiding in there safe hoods.

2 The Neo fascist LOCAL and NYC administration, that is more intent on trying to facilitate/negotiate mutli-billion dollar deals with construction developers than creating programs to help build and sustain small businesses.

This seems to me an amazing situation in the current economic climate. To crush any kinda business, let alone one that brings thousands of dollars a day to the local economy. Call me silly or irresponsible but it just seems like an absurd maneuver to me.

And!

Why all the haters? This neighborhood was nothing before Le Souk arrived. You will regret your petty 311 calls and waa-waaing baby talk to the community board when the rats and drugheads take over. You will beg us to return. Guess we will be giving our money now to the good people on La Guardia Place, home of the Le Souk Harem. I hope they will appreciate all that Le Souk regulars have to offer a neighborhood.

And!

If you don't want to live on a street or ave. that has businesses, perhaps moving out of the city would be best for you. The city is alive and people go out and night life abounds.

And!

Forgive me if I'm wrong but isn't LeSouk a Mom & Pop shop that has been put out of business by people complaining everyday about the noise and their over crowding?
Are we mourning the loss or congratulating the NIMBYs who blocked them from doing business.

And!

It's very arrogant to feel that just because someone wants to go out get really drunk and be loud and obnoxious that it's okay to be a disturbance to others and that residence ought to be "grateful" for you coming and bringing revenue into the neighborhood - because of course it was rat and drug infested before, right? And was "nothing" before you came spending your money, right? Unfortunately this is the mentality that is causing clubs and bars to experience difficulty when it comes to getting liquor licenses.

And!

It's worth noting that -- neighbor complaints notwithstanding -- Le Souk's liquor license was terminated by the SLA because the club failed to operate in compliance with applicable laws, not because residents had issues with it. Surely the complaint history did not help, but this termination was about more than noise complaints, and it went through the court system.

For all of the talk about the negative impact on businesses, why did local business owners not show up en masse to speak on behalf of Le Souk at community board meetings, if this one particular club was truly that important? Closing Le Souk does not represent a fast track back to 1980. Countless nightlife spots in the East Village operate successfully as good neighbors and no one has less fun as a result.

Previously.

Le Souk has really closed

On Friday, we heard that troubled hookah hotspot Le Souk had, indeed, closed after losing its liquor license.

I was curious if that was permanent. This sign now greets potential Le Soukers.



I asked Stacie, a resident who has lived nearby for a lot longer than the eight years that Le Souk has been around, for her take:

Yep -- it's closed. No dining, no drinking, no dancing, no parties. No bouncers, no crowds, no fights. No honking, no puking, no throbbing (music), no nothing.

With Le Souk's departure and the closure of Layaly, only one Hookah bar, the Horus Cafe, remains along the Avenue B corridor...

Report: No action taken yet on Le Souk (Update: "Two nights ago it finally closed down.")

In his "Mixed Use" column at The Villager, Patrick Hedlund follows up on the news last week that Le Souk is losing its liquor license. Residents who live near the hookah hotspot on Avenue B near Fourth Street shouldn't celebrate just yet.

Susan Stetzer, Board 3's district manager, said that despite the recent action, the club was up and running this past weekend.

"People that live in the area were celebrating the news, and by Sunday night they were complaining to the community board," she said.

The S.L.A. only has the power to confiscate liquor licenses and can't actually close the location. According to Stetzer, police at the East Village's Ninth Precinct had not been contacted about the ruling or asked to take any action.

"I must say, I'm a little frustrated," she added, recalling that after Le Souk's first cancellation, the club continued to operate for eight months. "It is really difficult to get any information on what the S.L.A. is doing about this."

UPDATE! Per the comments:

"I live across the street from Le Souk and couldn't wait for it to close! Two nights ago it finally closed down. No restaurant, no club, no bouncers, traffic, or underage squealers or fighters."

Previously.

"LE SOUK IS BACK!!"

Concerned residents forwarded me the copy of this message...

Residents of E 4th Street and Avenue B area,
PLEASE, WE NEED YOUR HELP!!!

Have your sleepless nights returned? Have you noticed that the noise and mayhem on Avenue B and the adjacent streets has returned?

LE SOUK IS BACK!!
Unfortunately, sad but true, the case against them was dismissed on a technicality and they are open under temporary license and coming up for a license renewal hearing in the next week or so. If you want to maintain your sanity and get some sleep at night, here are somethings you must do for yourself and the good of the community;

(FYI - Le Souk's Address is 47 Avenue B btwn 3 & 4 Streets)

1. PLEASE phone the SLA right now Complaint Hotline
(212) 961-8378. EVERY day counts. EVERY complaint/voice counts.
SEND your complaints and comments to the SLA.

2. If you'd prefer not to call, here's an easy link to file a complaint to the SLA.

3. As per Susan Stetzer, our CB3 District Manager, everyone must call 311 when the noise is crazy so that the complaints will be logged into the system. They will give you a complaint number which you should then send via email to Community Board 3.

4. If you prefer to send a snail mail letter to the SLA, you may do so at the below address.

PLEASE send a letter protesting this to

Attention: Dennis Rosen
New York State Liquor Authority, Zone One
317 Lenox Avenue, 5th floor
New York NY10027
Please CC: Susan Stetzer who is monitoring the situation. sstetzer@cb3manhattan.org

5. Please come to the CB3 meeting on October 19th at 6:30p to voice your opinions. Le Souk is on the calendar for that meeting.

SLA/DCA Licensing Committee
JASA/Green Residence
200 East 5th Street at Bowery

PLEASE TAKE ACTION ASAP!!!! It will only take a few moments, and the relative peace we had when Le Souk was closed - is at stake !
Thank you for your support.

contact us at: E4StBlockAssoc@yahoo.com

Photo by Yun Cee Ng via.

Your chance to nab a piece of junk from Le Souk

As Down by the Hipster noted May 22, Le Souk had its liquor license reinstated ... before that, though, there was talk the longtime bane of lower Avenue B (as Eater aptly described it) was relocating to Bleecker and LaGuardia...

Meanwhile, Le Souk must be doing a little late spring cleaning. Which may explain why someone at Le Souk left a bunch of crap on the sidewalk last night... I call dibs on the empty keg!

"If your establishment needs to hire a guy in an orange vest to direct traffic around your club every Friday and Saturday night..."

Crap, is it Thursday already? I meant to share this entertaining and informative reader comment earlier this week. Upon hearing the news last Friday that Le Souk had its liquor license reinstated and was planning on staying in the East Village (as reported first by DBTH), WB had the following to say:

One thing that need not be guesstimated is how much that place sucks.

Jokes aside, Le Souk did go before the Community Board in December. It was "following protocol" should this very thing happen. See here.

And so here we are. Hello.

Many spoke at that meeting. The tone was generally not positive as Le Souk went. It is true that some spoke up for the club, but a fair number of the pro Le Souk comments revolved around the tenuous idea that there exists no middle ground between circuses like Le Souk and the East Village of decades past (see reference 1). On the other hand the anti Le Souk crowd made consistently reasonable points. For example, if your establishment needs to hire a guy in an orange vest to direct traffic around your club every Friday and Saturday night, it's quite possible that your establishment has outgrown its environs.

Anyway, after everyone spoke their minds, the CB ruled that it would be inappropriate for it to make a decision at that time, since the license was suspended. It seemed like an odd decision at the time, given what was said and the place's history.

Now, I am not an attorney but I'm not certain that today's ruling means that Le Souk is on the fast track back to serving $24 Jägerbombs (reference 2). It sounds as if Le Souk needs to reapply for its license, which one would *guess* involves a recommendation yay or nay from the CB. And I can't fathom the CB giving it twelve thumbs up or whatever. The only thing Le Souk has going for it is that it has been closed for months and hence hasn't racked up more violations. But I don't fully understand how this machine works.

Anyway, if you ever have free time, the Community Board meetings are very interesting. It's a good look into one of the larger factors shaping our neighborhoods.

WB