I’m almost too embarrassed to write you—but not quite enough. I’ve lived in Tribeca since 1980 and I’ve been eating & drinking at the Odeon since it opened. Last week, sitting at the bar, I noticed that the foot ledge was missing and I asked the bartender (a lovely bearded fellow) if the foot rest was gone or was I imagining that there had been one? He explained that the bar was being renovated and starting that night, after closing, the entire bar was going to be lowered! The (rickety, silly) stools, too! We bought it, hook line and sinker, and I’ve been telling all of my old-timey friends—all aghast and confused. This morning, as it occurred to me to write to you about this crazy story, it dawned on me…. I’ve been had. But I’m writing just in case I haven’t. —B.

Rule #1 of hyperlocal journalism: No question is too small! “It’s true,” responded Odeon owner Lynn Wagenknecht. “When we installed the bar in 1980 (opening October 1980), we all agreed the bar had been assembled a bit too high…. Comfortable enough for standing but not so much for sitting. No bar stool was quite tall enough for ideal comfort. Over the years the height issue has been countered with less than ideal solutions such as 3″ of extra foam padding in the original chrome and leatherette bar stools we used for 20 or so years. The rattan bar stools currently in use are taller than most, although still on the short side for customers of smaller stature. More concerning has been the instability of the rattan stools, known to occasionally slip out from under a less than steady patron. When shopping around for appropriately sturdy bar stools, the same problem consistently presented itself: The bar stools were short by 2″-3″. Lowering the bar has always been something on my mind, especially since customers now dine at the bar so regularly. However, short of closing the restaurant for a week, the project seemed impractical until my colleague, Steve Abramowitz, suggested a clever way of holding the bar up with small jacks to facilitate trimming the bottom edge then resetting the wood on a brick base (to avoid water damage to the wood—a secondary plus to the project) thereby lowering the front. The process entailed temporarily removing the bar step for several days which must be the time the patron visited. Happily, the bar step has returned, albeit less deep to provide more room for one’s knees. The next step is to order more comfortable and stable bar stools to accommodate the much appreciated tushies of our beloved and deserving bar habitues!”

Got a question? Email it to tribecacitizen@gmail.com or call/text 917-209-6473.

Previous Nosy Neighbor posts:
• What’s that on top of the New Museum?
• What’s that new building next to 30 Park Place?
• Why are there strollers left overnight at Tribeca Pediatrics?
• Is that a new ferry terminal?
• Is Peace & Love going to reopen?
• Is this rooftop addition legal?
• Who’s painting those faces all over?
• What’s moving into 415 Broadway?
• What’s happening at Greenwich and Chambers?
• Is 37 Warren’s sidewalk shed ever coming down?
• When will 87 Leonard be done?
• What are those panels on the sanitation garage?
• How many fake restaurants are on Seamless?
• Is a 60-story hotel going up on W. Broadway?
• Why are the BMCC trailers still there?
• Didn’t Bread Tribeca have plans to reopen?
• When is the Arman building getting its Arman?
• Why is 15 Warren painted that way?
• Where do Laughing Man’s profits go?
• Are dogs allowed at outdoor restaurant tables?
• When will FiOS come to Tribeca?
• What’s up with 60 Hudson?
• Will the W. Broadway construction ever end?
• What’s happening at 87 Leonard?
• When will the West Street trailers be removed?
• What goes on at 444 Greenwich?
• When will the Chambers Street Elevators be fixed?
• Why are Goldman Sachs’s lights always on?
• What’s the story with the Batmobile?
• What’s going on with 88 Thomas?
• Is another Equinox opening in IPN?
• Any update on the Chambers construction?
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• Is 28 N. Moore going residential?
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• What are those white things at 137 Franklin?
• What’s that thing at W. Broadway and Leonard?
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• Is N. Moore getting cobblestoned?
• Can you recommend any Tribeca picture books?
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• Who enforces sidewalk-café regulations?
• What’s going on at 27 Desbrosses?
• What are those black pellets on Pier 25?
• What do the characters on 47 Vestry mean?
• Where is the Special Forces monument going?
• Who’s moving into 151 Hudson?
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• What’s going on in 157 Hudson?
• What is this P.C. Richard & Son Theater I keep hearing about?
• What’s the story behind the lights at 289 Church?
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• How come every every film and TV shoot seems to have a trailer with doors marked “Lucy” and “Desi”?

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