Restaurateur Matt Abramcyck (standing at right) at the CB1 Tribeca meeting

CHAMBERS STREET CONSTRUCTION UPDATE
Shane Ojar from the city’s Department of Design and Construction—with a phalanx of backup support—walked the committee (and plenty of residents) through the revised plan for construction on Chambers, expected to start soon. What hasn’t changed: Three years (“1080 consecutive calendar days,” which sounds even worse), two phases (West Street to West Broadway, West Broadway to Broadway), the fact that Chambers will be one-way (westbound) during construction. What has changed is that the old plan was for Chambers to be one-way for the three-year duration; now the plan is to only disrupt traffic when a particular part is being worked on—so when Phase 1 (West Street to West Broadway) is underway, the traffic pattern on the rest of Chambers will be normal. Otherwise, there didn’t seem to be much news. It’s going to be highly disruptive, but Ojar said all the right things in regard to water shutoffs (they may only happen from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m., but they’ll do their best to accommodate businesses that operate at night), schools (the plan is to get as much work as possible done near P.S. 234 during the summer), community liaising (311 only got mentioned once, by one of Ojar’s coworkers, and he said the dispatcher would call him at home if there was an emergency).

The scope of work: Reconstruction and replacement of distribution water mains; reconstruction of combined sewer; private utility upgrades; reconstruction of curbs, sidewalks, and roadway; installation of new traffic signs and street lighting; and planting of five new trees.

Allowable work hours: 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday to Friday; 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; no “noisy operations” before 8 a.m. or after 10 p.m.

Misc.: Merchant deliveries will not be allowed in work zones, and dedicated areas on cross streets will be created; M22 bus stops in construction zones will be relocated; and NYPD traffic cops will be brought in to stand around and watch or maybe screw up traffic even worse help with traffic.

The committee asked many questions and generally seemed satisfied with the answers. One community member did point out that it might make more sense if Murray was switched to be eastbound (currently, traffic heading eastbound from West Street is forced to turn right at Greenwich, clogging the entire area) and Warren made one-way eastbound. Ojar said lots of modeling would have to be done; my guess is that the Department of Transportation won’t give up that Warren Street bike lane, not for anything.

And then two folks from the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation spoke about its small-firm assistance program; companies on Chambers—or adjacent or parallel streets—with fewer than 15 employees who can prove that their business is being hurt by the construction can apply for grants totaling $25,000.

REMOVAL OF PAY PHONE ON CANAL STREET
A representative from CB2 (to the north) presented about how her board is resolving to get rid of four double-wide pay phones on the north side of Canal because they’re being used for counterfeit-goods operations, drug dealing, “reefer smoking,” and even prostitution. (Times are tough!) The city makes money from the advertising, so it keeps installing them all over. Anyway, she said that CB2 would also like CB1 to agree to get rid of one double-wide on the south side of Canal. One Tribeca committee member worried that getting rid of the pay phone would further homogenize the community because not everyone has cell phones, as his wife recently noticed. Several people agreed, but then the CB2 rep pointed out that there would still be plenty of single pay phones, and someone else noted how CB2 had done all of the heavy lifting on the issue and out of politeness, if nothing else, CB1 should go along with it. The vote was 7-0-2 in favor of getting rid of the pay phone.

LIQUOR-LICENSE APPLICATION: 92 LAIGHT
92 Laight is the River Lofts building; the storefront mostly faces West Street. This application was on last month’s agenda, when the applicant requested a layover; this time, no one showed.

50 Hudson

LIQUOR-LICENSE APPLICATION: 50 HUDSON
As I wrote yesterday, the furniture store Paul Kohn Design is leaving 50 Hudson (at Thomas) by the end of May. The owner of the building, whose first name is Eric—people don’t really get much of an introduction at these meetings—plans on opening a chocolate-based business there. (“The concept is coffee, cacao, and cocktails,” he said, explaining that it would be a café, bar, bakery, restaurant, and shop). The cooking/baking would only use electric power; the occupancy is below 74; and the drinks would incorporate the best chocolate liqueur he’s ever tasted (“and I don’t drink”). The chocolate—a new type, protected by 30 patents—will be made elsewhere. The neighbors in 165 Duane don’t like it, as they’re concerned about noise. The board, however, noted how reject the application outright entirely only risks the State Liquor Authority granting approval for 4 a.m.—as the application requested, simply as a starting point—and so the board believes that it’s better off agreeing to the license with restrictions on the hours. Eric seemed to be hoping for 1 a.m. on weeknights and 2 a.m. on weekends, but he got midnight  and 12:30 a.m. by a vote of (I think) 8-0-1, and he has promised to close the windows after 8 p.m. and whenever music—which must be unamplified—is being played.

109 West Broadway

LIQUOR-LICENSE APPLICATION: 109 WEST BROADWAY
Matt Abramcyck, an owner of Warren 77 and Smith & Mills, plans to open a restaurant in the old Delphi space, on the northeast corner of West Broadway and Reade (where David Bouley backed out of putting a Japanese restaurant). The restaurant will have 27 tables on the ground floor and a few in the basement; the ground-floor bar seats just five. The menu/atmosphere will be South American, if I understood correctly, with all organic ingredients; the restaurant will have no TVs (right on!) and the entrance will be on West Broadway. Abramcyck’s wife will use the second floor for a salon business. The committee was nervous about more nightlife so near Sazón and Ward III (and MaryAnn’s, said one member, until it was pointed out that MaryAnn’s is moving soon). But members were also pleased that such a prime location—in a celebrated building that has since gone to seed (“The place is a shithole!” said the chair)—is being brought back to life. (By the way, the owner is Century Real Estate, which is related to Century 21.) One member took a moment to say that he missed Delphi because of its affordable prices, and asked if the restaurant would be like Delphi in that regard, and Abramcyck said yes, sure (personally, I wouldn’t hold my breath). Abramcyck wanted 4 a.m. on weekends but got 1:30 a.m. on weeknights and 2 a.m. on weekends for six months, at which point he can reapply, by a vote of  8-0-1 (I think).

75 Worth

LIQUOR-LICENSE APPLICATION: 75 WORTH
As noted here, the owners of RBC NYC intend to open a bar next door at 75 Worth, between Church and Broadway, across from the AT&T Long Lines Building. The space is tiny—just 575 square feet, with 20 seats—and the menu will be tapas, as well as a 10-course tasting menu. The door is reservation-only. The problem is that the space above is residential (“Lots of kids live here,” said a resident), so the board was concerned about noise. The hours will be 1 a.m. on weeknights and 2 a.m. on weekends, by a vote of 6-1.

TAVERN-WINE-LICENSE APPLICATION: CANAL PARK PLAYHOUSE
Kipp Osborne, the owner of Canal Park Playhouse—which I wrote about here—had to refile his application for technical reasons. The playhouse is at 508 Canal, and beer and wine will only be served when there are performances. Seeing as how the board had already agreed, it agreed once again by a vote of at least 6 in favor. (It was a long meeting and things had devolved into a bit of chaos at that point.)

And that’s when I left—two-and-a-half hours is about all that I can take. Still to be discussed: sidewalk-café applications for Industria Argentina (a small enclosed space) and the Odeon (an institution), which I doubt were contested. There was also a street-permit application for a Bogardus Garden May Day Celebration on Saturday, May 8, on Chambers between Broadway and Elk (I’m curious why it’s not near Bogardus Park…), an application for a newsstand at the northwest corner of Broadway and Canal (because what that area needs is more sidewalk congestion), a discussion of neighborhood bar issues with Pace University, a discussion of one-way tolls on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, and liquor-license-application renewals for a bunch of restaurants that seem like there’s no reason to object: Zutto, Reade Street Pub, Kitchenette, Kiva Cafe, Estancia 460, Wolfgang’s Steakhouse, Yawa, and Gigino.