Walked past the man responsible for the cards this morning at 7am!! He was slinging the cards from the park corner… motive was unclear. — Krista on Nosy Neighbor: Why are there playing cards scattered on the street?

Hello, My name is Manena, and I am a partner in CX and Lumo Ombro, which is partnering with Farzi at 78 Leonard St to bring more culture and conversation to Tribeca (but not big parties!) Please allow me to clarify who we are and our intentions for the space. For 15 years, I worked at the head of interiors at ABC Carpet & Home. Through this time, I learned the power of restoring peoples sense of awe and wonder through creative storytelling. I also learned that people are hungry for alternatives to the mainstream predictable environments and experiences that our mass production world is used to and more than anything, I saw the potential and the desire for deep, and deeply connected community within New York City. For a couple of nights a week, this is what we are bringing to Farzi at 78 Leonard St. We are aiming to create a new kind of cultural center where artists and intellectuals can cross-pollinate ideas. To be very clear, we are not creating a nightclub. Our language and imagery are edgy, and nightlife, as we do produce large-scale events at other locations, and it's that imagery that brings in the young artists we most want to connect with. Our intention with 78 Leonard St is to create a cozy performance lounge, with interesting people connecting through conversation inspired by dynamic avant-garde performances, within a stunning space nestled on our quiet block in Tribeca. And we want to keep the block quiet! And very livable! Our first opening event during fashion week was met with a lot of enthusiasm, and hence, the scale was much bigger than expected. This is not our usual thing, as you will see as you get to know us over the weeks to come. Here's what we are planning: Soon, we intend to open a boutique flower shop and tea lounge during the day that will be open to the general public. On weeknights, we intend to host intimate talks with leading thinkers from around the world,artists, authors, scientists and on the weekends, we hope to host intimate performance nights with various avant-garde artists across the spectrum (think modern dance, world music, aerialists, and the like). Our focus is building community to inspire deep conversations while promoting and hosting local artists. You will see in our promotions that we do bigger events, but those are hosted in other spaces in other neighborhoods, like our large-scale masquerade event happening at a historic club in Chelsea. We look forward to meeting all of you, and would be happy to meet in person and tour you through the space at any time. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me directly at: Manena@cllctv.com — Manena on There’s a private nightclub on Leonard Street!

The opening night was a private event that was within the bounds of what as approved of the community board (Farzi is allowed a limited number of private events per year.) It is not our intention to have a regular program that goes beyond 1am on regular nights. — William on There’s a private nightclub on Leonard Street!

It’s me, the magical Mandy of Tribeca! I have tricked you! — Mandy on Nosy Neighbor: Why are there playing cards scattered on the street?

As one of the founders behind this project, I'm profoundly offended by this comment. Please see our letter to the neighborhood submitted in the comments below. But more than anything, please come by and meet the people you are speaking about before posting something like this. If you come say hello, I think you will like us and we will happily forgive you. I'll start by introducing ourselves, My name is William and I've spent 25 years working on art and culture in New York City, I had a gallery in Long Island City, and have done projects with the Louvre and within Obama's White House. Manena, our lead designer and lead on hospitality was the lead designer at ABC Carpet & Home for 15 years. Jessica, our lead on our academic programming is the author of Wired This Way and is a much loved scholar on the current human condition. Douglass Rushkoff, our Scholar in Residence is a well known author, speaker, and host of the podcast Team Human. I know it can be fun to write wild things about people on the Internet, but please, take a moment to get to know us first. — William on There’s a private nightclub on Leonard Street!

Hello everyone! This is William one of the founders behind the project you all are debating within the comments. Please, let me take a moment to introduce ourselves and our intentions. Below is a letter we shared with our direct neighbors, and I'm happy to share it with all of you, including our direct contacts. Please feel free to get in touch with any thoughts/questions/needs, or to simply come check out what we are up to! Dear Neighbors, First and foremost, I want to thank you all for your patience with our opening night event last Saturday, as it was fashion week, and our opening turned into quite a scene. Please accept our sincere apologies if the event was a disruption; this is not our usual program. I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce ourselves and our intentions for the space at 78 Leonard St. We are working with the team at Farzi to enliven the restaurant they've built with talks, performance nights, and wellness experiences all within our brand CX. CX is an avant-garde private performance community, that works with a membership base of artists and creators from across the city and around the world. We work with spaces like Farzi to bring community and culture to further their program (and cash flow) and to bring in new audiences. The event the other Saturday wasn't typical for us; mostly, we do fun, nerdy discussions on art, science, and the future of technology, for example the author Douglas Rushkoff is our Scholar in Residence. As a Tribeca neighbor, we'd be happy to have you come by anytime to experience directly what we are building. You will find, immediately, that it's far far far from what some of you are assuming in the comments (Thank you Vince G speaking up for us). Just mention that you are a neighbor when you come to the door, and our team will welcome you in. Right now we are only creating content a couple nights a week alongside and within the Farzi food service program. Please come by and say hello! 78 Leonard St., New York, NY Our goal is to be good neighbors, to bring more culture to Tribeca (we love this neighborhood!), and (hopefully) to be a meaningful part of an essential dialogue happening across New York City and beyond. In the meantime, if you need anything from us, please don't hesitate to email us directly: William - william@cllctv.com Manena - manena@cllctv.com — William on There’s a private nightclub on Leonard Street!

Perhaps a magician who has not yet mastered card tricks... — Robert Ripps on Nosy Neighbor: Why are there playing cards scattered on the street?

There were even more here this morning! I’m convinced there’s a secret underground card club that meets exclusively on this corner and they’re terrible at cleanup. Very low-key invested in solving this very niche urban mystery. — Card Collector - A on Nosy Neighbor: Why are there playing cards scattered on the street?

I grant the language is overly flowery. Yet I've worked with some of these people on other projects and they actually are a lot like the loft dwelling artists of Tribeca in the 70's. They are artists who live in lofts in Brooklyn, which are as endangered as your home once was. The majority are more performance and multimedia forward than the painters of the 70s. But that's the art world now. CX is going to be very pricey to get into and will be a membership only deal. So you are not going to have a bunch of wild, drunken children out there. There was little to no impact on their pop-ups in SoHo and the other neighborhoods they did first. It will be an interesting, 7-floor experiment. — Vince G on There’s a private nightclub on Leonard Street!

@TM: This is not GOA. It is CX, an entirely different venture. — Vince G on There’s a private nightclub on Leonard Street!

Nothing to add except I am so glad you are asking because it has regularly perplexed me how they keep getting there! — Chris on Nosy Neighbor: Why are there playing cards scattered on the street?

Looking forward to it, their appeal is supposed to be an average product at dirt-cheap price, hope they keep it up! — chinatown peach on World’s largest chain restaurant is coming to Canal Street

When GOA came to the community board they came as an Indian restaurant...not a club and no later than 1am. Please report to 311 and 911 and SLA .. — TM on There’s a private nightclub on Leonard Street!

“For those who know our world, the magic happens when our amazing members and guests connect meaningfully. We curate these nights as art and performance that wraps around you, the people you meet, and the conversations you have.” The wordiest way of saying that they're a club for boring tech/finance people who think "curating" visually interesting things is the same as being artistic or creative. Glad I'm not rich enough to buy whatever they're selling (which is almost certainly less "meaningful" and "ambitious" as what the average loft-dweller artist was doing in Tribeca circa 1977). — Elizabeth on There’s a private nightclub on Leonard Street!

I would like to add another review. The menu is innovative; the food and service were really great. Wonderful addition to the neighborhood! — Elizabeth on Sneak Peek: Nonna Dora’s

Those against it should be in touch with the Commuity Board. Who is on it? How would one be in touch with them? — George Bacon on There’s a private nightclub on Leonard Street!

No, it not a sex club. — Vince G on There’s a private nightclub on Leonard Street!

I am astounded at the self-righteous and provincial attitudes expressed here. Considering who is behind CX, they will have all their permits and permissions in order and there will be nothing illegal there. If you think not, call the authorities! If you find night life despicable, why do you live in NYC? Especially, why Tribeca (which is essentially FiDi), where the most craven, greed-forward activity in the USA takes place, in broad daylight? — Vince G on There’s a private nightclub on Leonard Street!

You need to write a book, sir. — Scott Y on A fake bar for Netflix at the Seaport

Sounds like it is a plan for just disrupting the neighborhood. How did this happen? — nancy a on There’s a private nightclub on Leonard Street!

Make Gigino’s great again!! It sounds like a Salvation Army is coming — Ma on Wagner Park restaurant goes to a Queens company that operates The Migrant Kitchen

Speaking of our Community Board, I understand it is with their blessing that the Brazilian restaurant on Duane Street has now held two Sunday out-in-the-street dancing parties with deafeningly amplified music -- music heard in apartments for blocks around -- from late afternoon until 9 pm. Shameful. — George Bacon on There’s a private nightclub on Leonard Street!

Too little and too late. Also cannot support him as he just endorsed a communist. — Palli on Washington Market Park will get another cash infusion for playgrounds

BTW the City Council has passed legislation which "eliminates all criminal penalties for licensed street vendors and misdemeanor penalties for unlicensed sellers" https://www.thecity.nyc/2025/09/10/council-veto-override-street-vendor-instacart/ — lia on Washington Market Park will get another cash infusion for playgrounds

Still waiting for CM to address the illegal vending of counterfeit goods on Canal which has trashed the neighborhood. Looks like he really picks and chooses his priorities and who he wants to please. — R. on Washington Market Park will get another cash infusion for playgrounds