Neighbors leave first Urban Etiquette Sign for UCBeast

Three weeks have passed since the Upright Citizens Brigade opened up their new theater/comedy club at Third Street and Avenue A...

And we have our first noise complaint, spotted on the East Third Street side...

In part, "Look around you. There are apartment buildings with people trying to get a few hours sleep. Start being a good neighbor and tell to those people to keep their voices down and stop blocking the sidewalk."

Well, this has quickly turned into a comedy of manners. (Offt!)

Sign campaign against the Boiler Room on Second Avenue

Spotted near Third Street... the bar is on Fourth Street just east of Second Avenue...

CB3 denies La Vie; owner responds by calling Susan Stetzer a 'racist'

The CB3/SLA committee meeting last night got off to an ugly start thanks to an often contentious 45-plus minute discussion about a renewal for La Vie, the hookah-flavored club at 64 E. First St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

First, a little about the address... which has seemingly been home to a succession of clubs in recent years...

A quick refresher from their Facebook page:

Open Daily 5 pm-4 am
Happy Hour: 5 pm-10 pm
Kitchen: 5 pm-3 am (Daily)
DJ: 6 nights a week
Wednesday: Live Middle Eastern Band

There is no mistake that this venue, designed to take a regular evening and turn it into a spectacular one, is called La Vie. Upon entering, life as you know it stops and your definition of New York nightlife changes, as French-Moroccan cuisine, cocktails, and décor fuse to attract a multitude. Come for happy hour, dance all night long, or come when our doors open and stay until the doors close, La Vie is on every night.

Several First Street residents were in attendance to address the ongoing issues with La Vie (and its predecessors), and the fact that they have been operating as a club under the guise of a restaurant.

According to residents, the dance music emanating from the two-level club is loud and disruptive to their quality of life ... and there's often chaos in the streets as clubgoers come and go, etc. ... Meanwhile, residents say management has been unresponsive to the issues. A manager told a resident that the club couldn't turn down the music, saying "they need to keep a good vibe for dancing."

Another resident stood up and gave one of the most heartfelt and straightforward pleas before the Community Board that I have ever heard. He estimated that he has put hundreds of hours into trying to get La Vie to be a better neighbor, even spending $3,500 on an independent sound study. He talked about the anxiety that he and his girlfriend were experiencing... being perpetually exhausted on just a few hours of sleep most nights... the dread of anticipating the nonstop thump-thump-thump of the music. "We refuse to retreat to another borough or community," he said.

The two owners were on hand... they took over La Vie this past fall... the two seemed sympathetic to the situation. One owner says they have spent $100,000 the last 45 days installing sound-proofing and getting sound testing done. The owners even offered to soundproof the apartments of any residents experiencing noise problems. "We understand there is more work to do," one owner said.

Later it came out that the previous club here also soundproofed the space, prompting people to wonder how much soundproofing was needed for one place ... Committee member Ariel Palitz, who owns Sutra around the bend on First Avenue, lectured the owners — and offered an inexpensive solution. Why not just turn down the music?

During the discussion, one of the owners said that his partner with him — Mohamed Elsayed — was the proprietor of Horus Cafe on Avenue B and Sixth Street and the Horus Cafe on Avenue A and 10th Street.

CB3 District Manager Susan Stetzer mentioned that Horus on B had run afoul of the State Liquor Authority (SLA) for an illegal sidewalk cafe. There was more discussion, and the committee voted against renewing La Vie's license... sending the matter on to the SLA, where the owners already have a hearing scheduled on Feb. 2 related to several prior violations, including an illegal trade name and unauthorized alterations (La Vie put in a retractable roof).

After the dismissal, a glowering Elsayed approached the committee table and made several angry comments. Turning to walk away, he inexplicably called Stetzer a racist. This prompted an exchange.

"Your mind was made up before we got here," Elsayed semi-shouted while leaving the room.

A little later, one committee member said in jest in front of the room, "If douchebags are a race, then I'm a racist."

Previous posts on last night's meeting:

LES nightlife game-changer: Team behind 13th Step, Down the Hatch OK'd to take over Café Charbon space

[Updated] Superdive a CB3/SLA no-show tonight

Le Souk is back open and loud as ever

We know that Le Souk is throwing a New Year's Eve bash at their old space on Avenue B ... Perhaps the Le Soukers were giving the space a test run last night... As one resident said, "it was so loud tonight all night after, say 11 pm. Around 2:30 am, I finally got up to see what the problem was ... Surprise! Le Souk."

Indeed.




The State Liquor Authority terminated Le Souk's liquor license in October 2009.

Washed-up Carne Vale officially now a laundromat

Former Avenue B irritant Carne Vale between Forth Street and Third Street is now a laundromat...



Next door, China 1 is changing concepts... and across the street, Le Souk is gone (for the most part!)... Regardless, one longtime Avenue B resident told me that life along here is "100 percent" better since Le Souk shuttered in late October of 2009.

Seems like awhile since all the noise hoopla along here... As The Villager reported in December 2005:

Inundated by complaints about noise from raucous bargoers and taxi horn honking, police blitzed Avenue B with a full-scale “shock-and-awe” operation last Friday night.

Blanketing the avenue with 25 to 30 officers on foot, in patrol cars and vans — as well as on horseback to provide visual presence — police targeted quality-of-life and moving-vehicle violations from 8:30 p.m. to 4:30 a.m., issuing a total of 99 summonses, making two arrests and towing seven cars.

And a few photos by Bob Arihood taken outside Le Souk accompanied the article...



[Photos by Bob Arihood/The Villager]

Booze beat for the LES?

The Post has this "exclusive" item today:

Fed up with drunken antics on the Lower East Side, a neighborhood business association hopes to get off-duty cops to walk what would essentially be the city's first booze beat.

If approved by the NYPD, the moonlighting crime fighters -- in uniform -- would patrol the beer-soaked lanes between Houston and Delancey streets Thursday nights and on weekends.

They wouldn't be permitted to work inside or at the front doors of the many local gin mills, but they could lasso sidewalk lushes.

"We think having a cop on the beat . . . would really help nightlife establishments be quieter and safer," said Lower East Side Business Improvement District Executive Director Bob Zuckerman.

The Post also managed to speak to one person opposed to this idea.

And barflies voiced concern that the off-duty cops could become the fun police.

"This is a noisy city," music writer Nicole Wasilewicz, 25, said outside Pianos on Ludlow Street. "You come here to make some noise."

[Image via]

Noise wars: Bowery resident sues the eatery down below

A resident at 344 Bowery is suing her downstairs neighbor, the Spanish tapas joint Sala. The New York Law Journal wrote about the case yesterday:

New York City has a reputation as the city that never sleeps. As a recent decision by Supreme Court, New York County Justice Joan M. Kenney in Kahona Beach LLC v. Santa Ana Restaurant Corp. demonstrates, balancing that 24/7 vitality against competing quality of life concerns can sometimes be problematic and require court intervention. In Kahona Beach, the limited liability company owning a condominium apartment in Manhattan, and the individual residing there, sued a restaurant/lounge located directly below the apartment, the principal of the restaurant/lounge and the restaurant/lounge’s landlord. The suit sought damages and permanent injunctive relief based on defendants’ allegedly having created a private nuisance by playing music too loudly.

You need a "premium subscription" to access the article ... However, I'm thankful that the lawyer behind the blog NonConformingUse passed along the link with a quickie explanation:

Feel free to read through the whole article (which is just a jargony rehash of the decision). Basically, this case is cleared to go to trial — there are issues of fact that a jury needs to decide.

Also, as I reported back in August, Sala is for sale.

[Updated: Eater is reporting that Sala was victorious in the lawsuit.]

[Updated] Last night at Diablo Royale Este

The EV Grieve inbox is lighting up this morning about a blowout at Diablo Royale Este — home of the Hopsicle! — on Avenue A.... More details and photos from last night's party are appreciated.


Updated 11:40 — A reader notes that there is a whole lotta broken beer and booze bottles this morning in the street in front of Diablo Royale Este...

EV resident looking to do something constructive about nightlife horror show

In response to our post on the Squadron Bill, an East Village resident recently left the following comment:

Three new bars in three blocks on Second Ave between 10th and 12th Streets in the past year. They get drunk/clog the streets/scream/yell/throw litter all over the place. I have NEVER seen anything like this. The entire character of the neighorhood is completely changed. Once a place known for good restaurants and "quaint" shops — it's now THE place to come and get drunk and act up. How does the right of a few bar owners trump the rights of all the rest of us to live in peace in a very lively but nice neighborhood? How did this happen and what can we do about this. The new law will do nothing to help unless we all work together. Help! — contact me directly at abonus2001@yahoo.com — and let's see if we can do something constructive about it.

I followed up with the reader and asked for her permission to make her comment a separate post. ... An East Village resident since the late 1960s, the reader is looking to take action with some like-minded people who are also tired of what has become of the nightlife scene.

[Image via]

Would the 'Meathead Ordinance' work in New York City?

Thanks to our friend Goggla for sending along this link from The Seattle Times yesterday:

In an effort to help Seattle police tame unruly bar patrons as they spill out of the city's bars and clubs at closing time, the Seattle City Council unanimously passed an ordinance Monday that would allow cops to write tickets for fighting, making threats and creating noisy disturbances.

Dubbed the "meathead ordinance" — a catchall phrase for the stereotypical bad behavior officers regularly encounter when bar patrons spill onto sidewalks just before 2 a.m. — the measure would be enforced between midnight and 5 a.m.

Given the number of meatheads who invade the neighborhood weekends, the city could make a fortune in no time... And I'm not advocating such an ordinance -- just pointing out its existence somewhere else... according to the Times, the ordinance still needs to be vetted by the state Department of Ecology (!), which reviews all laws related to noise.

NYPD hosting meeting between Sin Sin and neighbors tonight

Lt. Patrick Ferguson of the Ninth Precinct has organized a meeting tonight at 7 between neighbors and Sin Sin's management. The meeting will take place at Sin Sin, 248 E. Fifth St.

In a post from last month, Stuart Zamsky, president of the East Fifth Street Block Association, called the bar combo on the corner of Fifth Street and Second Avenue, a "notoriously bad neighbor." Among the alleged disruptions: "Night after night of screaming, shouting into cell phones and loud music" and "fist fights are a common occurrence." (Their website advertises hosting birthday parties fro groups of 15 to 300.)

Last month, the CB3/SLA committee rejected Sin Sin's liquor license transfer. As Eater reported: "Neighbors came out in full swing ... with 20 showing up to oppose the transfer, claiming that Sin Sin was the source of countless brawls and noise issues in the neighborhood... Things got personal, as CB3 chair Dominic Pisciotta questioned whether the transfer applicants’ background in managing a Dunkin’ Donuts made them unqualified to take on a bar with such a troubled history."

So tonight: Will there be meaningful dialogue that gets to the root of the problem, or will management offer some olive branches such as, say, the cellphone number of the bouncer to call at 4 a.m. when patrons are yelling outside? Perhaps team Sin Sin can speak with the Lit Lounge owners, who have made strides in reducing the quality-of-life issues surrounding their club.

Residents who are directly impacted by Sin Sin are encouraged to attend tonight's meeting.

Previously on EV Grieve:
East Village noise wars new battlefront: Sin Sin/Leopard Lounge

How Lit Lounge is trying to be a better neighbor

East Village noise wars new battlefront: Sin Sin/Leopard Lounge

Sin Sin/Leopard Lounge is on the docket for the CB3/SLA meeting next Thursday for a liquor license transfer...

Stuart Zamsky, president of the East Fifth Street Block Association, calls the bar combo on the corner of Fifth Street and Second Avenue, a "notoriously bad neighbor."
Among the alleged disruptions: "Night after night of screaming, shouting into cell phones and loud music" and "fist fights are a common occurrence." (Their website advertises hosting birthday parties fro groups of 15 to 300.)

Zamsky is asking for residents who are directly impacted by Sin Sin and live in close proximity to it (on Fifth Street or Second Avenue) to sign the online petition (and include your building’s address with your signature). The petition is here.

You can also write a short letter entailing the difficulties you experience due to Sin Sin and forward it to Zamsky: east5thstreetba@mail.com

Also, as he notes, you can attend the meeting on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. — JASA/Green Residence, 200 E. Fifth St. at the Bowery.

If you live in the neighborhood but not necessarily in close proximity to Sin Sin, Zamsky says you can write a short letter entailing the difficulties you experience due to the proliferation of bars in your East Village/Cooper Square neighborhood and forward it to him: east5thstreetba@mail.com.

As Zamsky says: "Sin Sin received its license before the East Fifth Street Block Association began getting asking to agree to stipulations regarding their methods of operation. This license transfer application is the neighborhood’s opportunity to sit down with the operators and get them to agree in writing to conduct their business in a fashion that will allow residents to experience peaceable nights."

Previously, the East Fifth Street Block Association worked with the Lit Lounge owners on becoming better neighbors. You can read about that right here.



P.S.
If you do go the the Sin Sin website, then turn the volume down in advance. Party photo via the Sin Sin website.

Senator's bill could shutter problem bars — eventually

Also in The Villager this week... reporter Michael Mandelkern looks at a new bill by Sen. Daniel Squadron. Per the article:

The state Senate passed a bill on June 24 that sets guidelines for the State Liquor Authority to revoke the licenses of routinely raucous bars and clubs.

If Governor David Paterson signs the bill — co-sponsored by state Senator Daniel Squadron and Assemblymember Robin Schimminger — into law, the S.L.A. could shut down nightspots if police are called at least six times within two months for excessive noise and disorderly conduct.

However! There's a however...

Susan Stetzer, district manager of Community Board 3 . . . was doubtful that many places would have enough bad incidents to fall within the new S.L.A. standard.

"There are some bars [in the Lower East Side] that have constant problems, but I think it would be extremely unusual [to have six incidents in 60 days]," she said. “There are very few bars that would reach this level."

A look at the East Village noise wars

There's a nice, comprehensive piece by Sarah Laskow in Capital, a new online publication run by some former Observer editors.... The piece is titled Is the East Village getting noisier or just grumpier?

An excerpt!

Data from the State Liquor Authority (S.L.A.) show that the number of active liquor licenses in the area has stayed relatively stable. In 2006, in the zip code 10009, an area stretching east from 1st Ave between Houston and 20th St., the S.L.A. documented 222 active liquor licenses for on-premise consumption — the types of licenses that restaurants, bars, and clubs use. Over the next two years, that number dipped to 216, but by 2009, there were 231 active liquor licenses in that area. The aggregate increase was nine licenses.

But there has been plenty of turnover. Of the 231 licenses in 2009, only 153 have been consistently active since 2006. That means that about a third of the licensed establishments in the East Village have opened in their current incarnation only within the past four years.

Read the whole thing here.

East Village noise wars go national

Thanks to Jeremiah Moss for including my thoughts in a piece for The Huffington Post titled, Fighting the Noise Wars -- One Blog at a Time. He also includes commentary from Jill at Blah Blog Blah.

Stop the rooftop noise

Anyone else spot these "stop the rooftop noise stickers"?



Apparently atop 84 E. 10th St. here...

A happy ending next door to Cabin Down Below

Back on March 25, I did a story on the family who lives next door to the newish entrance to Cabin Down on Seventh Street at Avenue A. The residents were often kept up for hours at night by the clack-clack-clack-clang-clang-clang of footsteps on the steel stairs bargoers use to enter and leave the bar...

As I left off, the resident had heard back from one of the owners, who expressed concern over the situation...

Anyway, good news to report... the resident reports that the problems has been resolved. In recent weeks, a worker has tinkered with the steel stairs. Among other things, the stairs now have rubber treads ... as well as a padded mat at the landing... He said that this has resolved the problem to the point that it no longer disturbs the resident and his family. (Aside from the fix, he said a small part of it had to do with simply getting used to the noise.)

While it did take a few phone calls... a few weeks of waiting, he said that he was happy to report that a resident can still resolve a problem without getting attorneys involved or tossing water balloons at the offending parties.

Perhaps there's hope left for the rest of the neighborhood...?

Previously on EV Grieve:
Life above Cabin Down Below

Looking for people who are experiencing noise from Lit Lounge

Last Thursday, I noted the steps that Lit Lounge is taking to become a better neighbor... And now the East Fifth Street Block Association has placed signs on Lit Lounge's neighbors on Second Avenue ...



As the sign notes: "Your cooperation will not just help yourself, but future tenants who will come in your wake."



Previously on EV Grieve:
How Lit Lounge is trying to be a better neighbor

How Lit Lounge is trying to be a better neighbor

During the CB3/SLA meeting on March 15, the owners of Lit Lounge -- the two-floor bar/music venue/art gallery at 93 Second Ave. -- were requesting a license transfer to launch a new venture in the space.

As Eater reported that night: "The pitchforks and community outcries came out ... several community members brought signs and spoke out against the owners of Lit, complaining about crowds on the sidewalk forcing pedestrians to walk in the street and music that plays past 4 a.m. on weekends."

There was more: "You run an unbelievably irresponsible business," said one young man who moved above the bar six months earlier. (He's not renewing his lease.) Nearly every speaker invoked the same phrase: 'Lit is not a good neighbor.'"

As The Lo-Down reported: "One resident called the owners 'a lawless group,' who don't bother cleaning up broken glass on the sidewalk, refuse to control their customers and are unresponsive to complaints."

The owners withdrew their transfer request until they can demonstrate that they are willing to make changes.

I recently contacted David Schwartz, one of Lit's co-owners, and asked him what Lit has — and will — be doing in the coming weeks to be a better neighbor.



Via e-mail, he sent me a lengthy list of the steps they are taking. Among them:

Security
Hired an extra person outdoors for crowd control from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m., and to tell patrons to watch belongings inside. Also, we're now asking people to kindly move on after smoking outside or go back inside. We also have brand-new red ropes for two separate corrals for smokers outside.

Noise control
Limiters for sound system
Turn amps down to take control away from DJs.
Informed all staff to tell appropriate parties to lower music if too loud.
Informing people who are controlling the levels how to adjust the system to keep levels fair and balanced.
Lowering bass.
Hiring sound engineer to do meter readings next door.
Soundproofed whole side of bar.
Music off at 4 a.m. mandatory

Safety
All signs have been replaced or made noticeably bigger.
Cameras.

Band loading
Making sure someone is at Lit while load in takes place and load out happens safely and earlier than later.

Staff
Gave out a memorandum that stated that the some neighbors and community board were not happy with Lit. Listed different topics for them so they could give me some more creative, serious ideas to help us be better neighbors.

The Lit owners have also places fliers on adjacent apartment buildings...



Last Thursday, Schwartz met with members of the East 5th Street Block Association, several of whom spoke out at the March 15 CB3/SLA meeting. The Block Association will be approving and signing a list of the stipulations... I hope to have those soon...along with some more local reaction.

Schwartz said that Lit will likely wait several months before returning to the CB3 to make sure that they're doing things right...

Momofuku Milk Bar patrons getting loud?

A newish sign outside Momofuku Milk Bar on 13th Street near Second Avenue...



... are those cornflake chocolate chip marshmallow cookies making the masses noisy?