PIER 26 UPDATE
Madelyn Wils, president of the Hudson River Park Trust, was supposed to give an update on Pier 26, but Governor Cuomo called her to Albany. So Tom Lindon, director of marketing and events, spoke instead. The Hawaiian Airlines Liberty Challenge—an outrigger regatta—happening on June 22 (Pier 26 will be the finish line); the Zumiez Coach Tour stops by on June 25 (with skateboarding demos and music by something called AWOLNATION); gay pride events are June 28-30 (more on those in a sec); and the bands OneRepublic and Passion Pit will play the pier on Aug. 10 and Sept. 6-7, respectively. The pier has capacity for 5,000 people, by the way—not sure if we knew that. He didn’t talk about the dog run (which we heard yesterday would be most likely not be done till the second week of July) or the esplanade/bike path (which I believe should be done soon), but he did say that the Pier 26 restaurant RFP is going out this month.

PRESENTATION BY ASSOCIATION OF COMMUNITY EMPLOYMENT
Travis Tinney of ACE, the group that hires homeless folks to do street maintenance and other tasks—in order to get them back on their feet in general—talked about how the organization needs to raise $20,000 if it’s going to keep operating in Tribeca. They do amazing work, so if you, your building, your business, and/or your organization can find a way to help and/or hire them, please consider it. There’s more info at acenewyork.org. Donate!

GAY PRIDE DANCE ON PIER 26
The Heritage of Pride events for gay pride weekend will be on Pier 26 for the first time. It’s rather obviously not as good a fit as Chelsea, but “Pier 54 is falling into the river,” said one organizer, so Hudson River Park offered up Pier 26. On Friday, June 28, there will be a rally from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday, June 29, brings Rapture on the River; a dance for women with DJ Dimples spinning. And on Sunday, the Pier Dance will be from 3 to 10 p.m.—there will be fireworks. P.S. The organizers said they’re hoping the event will be at Pier 26 for “at least 3-4 years.” P.P.S. Nearby businesses might want to invest in a rainbow flag.

SIDEWALK-CAFÉ LICENSE APPLICATION: FIKA (450 WASHINGTON)
Unenclosed café with an undisclosed number of tables and seats. Does it matter? It’s like the Kalahari around there (for now…). Vote: 9-0.

SIDEWALK-CAFÉ LICENSE APPLICATION: AMERICAN CUT (363 GREENWICH)
John Meadow of LDV Hospitality—the company behind the Marc Forgione–branded American Cut steakhouse coming to the old Trattoria Cinque space—was on hand to apply for the café seating. Six tables, 12 seats, all on the existing raised platform. Vote: 7-0-1 (the recusal was because one committee member’s company does real estate work with LDV).

SIDEWALK-CAFÉ LICENSE APPLICATION: AOA BAR & GRILL (35 SIXTH AVE.)
A resident of the American Thread Building showed up to ask about the café seating planned for AOA Bar & Grill (inside the Hilton Garden Inn), which will have eight tables and 16 seats, but she didn’t put up much of a fuss. Vote: 9-0.

SIDEWALK-CAFÉ LICENSE APPLICATION: BENVENUTO (369 GREENWICH)
Benvenuto currently has unenclosed seating on Greenwich and Franklin. The Greenwich side is not being changed and that’s what was up for discussion last night. The Franklin side is getting enclosed, per the city’s approval, and it’ll be discussed next month or thereafter. Vote: 9-0.

SIDEWALK-CAFÉ LICENSE APPLICATION: SALAAM BOMBAY (317 GREENWICH)
Salaam Bombay was reapplying because Landmarks had issues with its outdoor plan. The seating will be on a raised platform, so the committee didn’t care much either way, except for one member, who asked about removing the tattered old banner hanging off the building’s façade. Vote: 9-0.

LIQUOR-LICENSE APPLICATION: 339 BROADWAY
Good news for east Tribeca! The Variety Café space is becoming a 24-hour deli with groceries, household items, and food. I didn’t catch the name, but the owners anticipate opening in two to three weeks. They wanted a beer/wine license for on-premises drinking, which they got till 4 a.m. Vote: 9-0.

LIQUOR-LICENSE APPLICATION: 61 WARREN
This had been on the agenda as 61 Broadway, which raised my eyebrows (that would make it part of the FiDi Committee), and sure enough, the revised agenda said it was for the Little Place, or the Bigger Little Place, or the Bigger Place—whatever you want to call the Mexican-American joint at the southeast corner of Church and Warren. A CB1 rep said it was for a change in ownership, although when I tweeted all this, @lancefagan responded that a “close friend of owner just denied rumor of ownership change.” Well, something’s up, or will be next month, or maybe this is the last we’ll hear of it.

LIQUOR-LICENSE APPLICATION: TUTTO IL GIORNO (114 FRANKLIN)
Maurizio Marfoglia of Tutto Il Giorno, which has two outposts in the Hamptons, said the Italian restaurant coming to 114 Franklin (Theater Bar, Grace), will be open noon to midnight (not exactly Tutto Il Giorno, eh?) and the application made it sound like the ones to the east. (See menus.) A neighbor who lives next door—on the ground floor, no less—raised concerns that it would be a party scene because a magazine once referred to dancing on the tables at the Sag Harbor location. A committee member responded that if it was going to be a party place, the requested closing hours would probably be more like 2 a.m., and another committee member said that based on the prices, young people (i.e., partiers) wouldn’t be frequenting it. (Um, time to spend more time in the Meatpacking District or the Lower East Side, folks.) Marfoglia agreed to add sound insulation, since aside from demo (during which part of the 8-inch brick wall fell into the neighbors’ living room), construction “hasn’t even started yet.” Vote: 9-0.

LIQUOR-LICENSE ALTERATION REQUEST: M1-5 (52 WALKER)
The bar’s current liquor license says the kitchen is on the left, but it’s actually on the right, and the State Liquor Authority wants the license changed accordingly. The committee reached out to residents who had complained about M1-5 in the past, but they declined to weigh in. Vote: 8-0.

LIQUOR-LICENSE APPLICATION: 349 GREENWICH
Dean’s is selling. When the new owner, Thomas Bostaris, was asked whether the menu will change, he was non-committal, and I think he or his lawyer muttered something about American food (which would be in line with his other venture, a dinerish spot called Bloom’s Deli, at 40th and Lex.) But the sample menu presented to the committee was the existing one for Dean’s…. The place will have a new name, which has not been decided. The closing hours are 10:30/11 p.m., so it’s not going to be rowdy. Vote: 7-0.

Update: Comments have been turned off due to spam. To have them turned back on, email tribecacitizen@gmail.com.