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Seen & Heard: Late-Night Sidewalk Seating Request
••• The new JR mural at 100 Franklin as of Saturday afternoon. It’s a historical photo of kids at Ellis Island. UPDATE: Right after I posted this, Shelley emailed that she just came across the full photo that JR is using at U.S. History Scene; it’s below.
••• Filming yesterday around Cortlandt Alley: “The Starry Night, The Starry Sea,” which appears to be a Chinese TV series. From IMDB: “The romantic tale follows a girl living on a small island shelters and falls in love with a man from no where. The mysteries surrounding them gradually unravel his true identity, the ultimate end of an evolutionary process distinct from human beings.” Meanwhile, the TV show “Billions” is shooting in the Warren/Church area on Tuesday and the Murray/Church area on Wednesday.
••• The discussion around the sidewalk café at the restaurant opening at 385 Greenwich/71 N. Moore (formerly Ivy’s Bistro) promises to be even more contentious than I thought: Not only do owners Matt Abramcyk and Akiva Elstein likely want to put tables on a side street, they’re asking for the right to serve outside till midnight Sunday through Thursday and 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. (About the headline: Yes, midnight and 1 a.m. qualify as “late night” in these parts, especially in regard to outside tables.)
••• It does indeed appear that Buddha Bar is going straight to the State Liquor Authority, having been rejected by Community Board 1 (whose role is only advisory). If you’d like to send a comment to the SLA, the info is below.
••• The door handle at 156 Reade, where an Alex & Ani jewelry store was said to be opening, says “Studio 156.” So maybe it’s less of a store and more of a showroom for the brand?
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1am Friday and Saturday is most definitely not late, stop being such a NIMBY – don’t you live all the way down at the eastern end of Warren Street? The corner of No.Moore and Greenwich is not residential. Locanda Verde is on the southeast corner, the big office building is on the northwest corner, and Independence Plaza is on the southwest side but the entrance to 80 No.Moore St. is far from the corner and all IP residents have storm windows which greatly reduce outside noise. Yes there are apartments right above the corner of No.Moore and Greenwich but you know what you’re getting into when you move there (you live above a restaurant.)
I don’t know if you and the rest of the contingent who wants TriBeCa to be a quiet suburban enclave realize this but TriBeCa is not (nor should it be) a quiet suburban enclave, it’s a neighborhood in a city known for its nightlife. People go/are out Friday and Saturday nights. People stay out late those nights. I am all for people partying on those nights because it brings life to the neighborhood, and having fun doesn’t mean act like an idiot. No one acts like an idiot here and I defy anyone to name one place in TriBeCa where they do. I don’t forsee people yelling or screaming at these outside tables, I see the establishment telling the rare noisy patron to please quiet down. The bar on No.Moore St. just off Greenwich St. is lively but well-behaved and quiet with zero incidents.
Besides that the only places on Greenwich which have outside tables at night are Locanda Verde, Sarabeth’s, and Gigino’s, and there are no places with outside seating off these streets besides Smith & Mills, so big deal if the former Ivy’s space wants two or three tables out front across from an office building.
Personally, I don’t care if there are tables there till midnight or 1 a.m.—but I can assure you that many, many residents around there will be seriously concerned about it. (Where I live is obviously irrelevant.) As for other restaurants on Greenwich with outdoor seating at night, you neglected to mention Roc, Salaam Bombay, Dahlia’s, Maison Kayser, Benvenuto, Tablao, Tribeca Grill, Sweetgreen, Estancia 460, and whatever ends up in the Dean’s and Dylan Prime spaces.
Actually, people do live on North Moore near Greenwich- I have been doing so for almost 30 years, others longer. When I moved here the corner housed a pizza place, with no outside tables that I recall, and certainly none in the evening. Across the street was an old two story garage. Nobody was hanging out on North Moore drinking and smoking until late at night, throwing up in front of my building, and getting into the occasional drunken fights.
I am not against the idea outdoor seating (where appropriate) per se, and it is not the seats on Greenwich, which is a wide open street, but the ones proposed for North Moore, which is the issue. As it is now, the sounds from the 4 or so tables at Smith & Mills, with the groups of people standing on the sidewalk up and down past their entrance, plus the many outdoor tables at Locanda Verde, as well as all the sounds from inside there when they open their doors, that echo between the buildings on North Moore, making it actually louder several flights up than at street level. What is late is different if you are out with friends wanting to have a drink or some food, than it is for someone needing to be able to get a good nights sleep, and just wanting to not be disturbed in their own home.
Also, having a bar, or restaurant that generates large crowds means the area around our loading dock and stairs are constantly used as an ashtray, garbage can, urinal, and worse. In addition to the noise, cigarette smoke wafts in if I have my windows open, and broken glass litters the sidewalk every morning. The thought of that increasing by a factor or two or three is not appealing.
There is no holding back change; Tribeca is now a very popular neighborhood, bars & restaurants cover the once quiet & empty streets, but at least let’s try to strike a balance between business owners & their establishments, that many of us do ourselves frequent, and residents who also deserve a reasonable amount of peace and quiet in the late evenings. Maybe some people live 30 stories up in a modern towers, with central air & triple paned windows, so they are not aware of how disruptive being next to a bar can be, or perhaps moved here not because they appreciated the historic and more low key vibe of the neighborhood, but wanted to live in a neighborhood because it is deemed “hip.”
It’s all about finding a middle ground, and respect between all sides involved. Limit the number of outdoor seats, especially on narrower side streets (which I believe there is supposedly already a moratorium on), and where there is outdoor seating, set the closing to something like 10 PM on weeknights, 11 or 11:30 on weekends, and above all, have the businesses police the areas around the establishment to make sure people are not disturbing the neighbors, who also have a right to enjoy their lives in Tribeca.
I live at 80 N. Moore. Right now, the Citicorp construction crews begin work at 7 a.m. They do all the noisy stuff until 9 a.m., presumably so the workers aren’t bothered. Then, at the end of the workday, they take out the jackhammers and work away until at least 11 p.m. The only days when we get a little bit of quiet in the evening are Saturday and Sunday. So excuse me for not feeling enthusiastic about welcoming a swarm of party animals to the block. That said, we are looking forward to the opening of the restaurant and wish them well … indoors.
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Re: Cookie Milk “No one acts like an idiot here and I defy anyone to name one place in TriBeCa where they do.”
Corner of N. Moore & Greenwich – every Friday and Saturday. Sometimes Wed. & Thu. I have been living at 80 N. Moore for 7 years and have been woken by many an idiot.
I am not against “fun”. But can’t you have your fun inside?