By Suzanne Ma
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
LOWER EAST SIDE — Restaurateurs trying to open a restaurant in Manhattan know one factor trumps location, location, location. They must first make peace with their neighbors.
In the East Village and the Lower East Side, where hotspots open in basements and ground floors of old tenements, there is constant negotiation over noise, music and large weekend crowds. Some negotiations turn into confrontations, and it all comes to a head at Community Board 3's monthly liquor licensing committee meeting.
A restaurant's survival is often at dependent on the outcome of those meetings.
"This community board has more 311 commercial noise complaints than any other community board in the city," said District Manager Susan Stetzer. "There has been a negative impact on the quality of life in some areas from businesses that are not responsible."
The board must receive notice 30 days before an application is sent to the State Liquor Authority, which ultimately approves or denies the application. Support from the community board, however, can influence the decision.
Although restaurateurs are not required by law to attend community board meetings, almost all applicants show up, Stetzer told DNAinfo. They also get in touch with block associations and canvass the neighborhood. Others also host public meetings to give concerned residents an a personal introduction.
Community Board 3 received more than 280 applications for a liquor license this year. About half get approved, Stetzer said.
DNAinfo took a look at five key restaurants and bars, how they butted heads with the community board, and how the license issue was resolved.
1. Le Souk
East Village hot spot Le Souk closed this year, after a ten-year battle between owner Sam Jacob and neighborhood residents.
The bar and restaurant was notorious for large crowds, loud music and belly dancers.
But Le Souk's patrons had a good time at the expense of neighborhood residents who described "honking cars," "obnoxious traffic" and "drunk, animal behavior" outside the Avenue B bar on Friday and Saturday nights.
Le Souk was closed for much of this year after the State Liquor Authority revoked its license following citations of overcrowding. But Jacob fought the charge in appellate court and, in May, the decision was overturned.
Le Souk reopened in August, but not for long.
When Jacob returned to the community board in October to seek a liquor license renewal, East Village residents showed up at the meeting, urging Community Board 3 not to support his request. They described, in vivid detail, many sleepless nights.
That night, the liquor license committee voted not to support the renewal, saying Jacob hadn't done enough to deal with neighborhood opposition.
Four days later, the State Liquor Authority announced that the New York State Court of Appeals had upheld its cancellation of Le Souk's license and the restaurant was closed for good.
2. KOI
Koi, a restaurant chain serving "Japanese-inspired cuisine with California accents", had hoped to transform a men's shelter on the Bowery into an upscale sushi lounge.
In July, in an effort to appease its neighbors, KOI invited locals to learn more about the restaurant, which already has a location in Bryant Park.
At the meeting, they described a 6,000 square foot restaurant with 230 seats at 347 Bowery, and displayed an elaborate menu complete with 20 different kinds of sushi rolls and Kobe beef pot stickers, according to blogger EV Grieve.
But locals were not sold. Days later, KOI was shot down by Community Board 3 and unanimously denied the restaurant's application for a liquor license. Board members cited increased traffic, noise, and 19 other liquor licenses within 500 feet.
KOI representatives described a "warm, inviting environment" for the community – with business hours until 4:00 in the morning.
But local residents spoke up at the meeting, saying the upscale restaurant would not be a nuisance, according to the blog, Jeremiah's Vanishing New York.
They also pointed out that the area's median income is just $31,000, meaning the locals probably wouldn't be enjoying those Kobe pot stickers.
3. T Poutine
The Lower East Side was introduced to the greasy side of Canada this year, with the opening of T Poutine on Ludlow Street.
Poutine, pronounced "pooh-teen", is essentially French fries covered with fresh white cheese curds and bathed in a light gravy.
The restaurant opened in July and its website describes poutine as "the national meal of Canada."
"Poutine has liberated the French fry from its loveless marriage to the hamburger and introduced it to a world of new ingredients," the website says.
The menu offers a wide selection of poutine, including poutine with bacon and a sunny side up egg on top, or poutine topped with layers of smoked Montreal meats. There are also burgers, ice cream floats and desserts like "The Canuck", which involves pouring Canadian maple syrup and dusting spiced cinnamon sugar over sweet potato fries.
But don't count on washing down all that with a beer of even a glass of wine. T Poutine had asked Community Board 3 to approve a wine only liquor license in May, but they were denied.
The concern? Ludlow Street is already home to many bars and restaurants. And no matter how you spin it, doesn't poutine sound like the perfect disco breakfast?
4. 1 Essex St.
A new restaurant planned for the corner of Essex and Canal was denied a liquor license in May of this year, as residents from the East Canal Neighborhood Association fought to prevent their block from becoming a "mini-Ludlow."
According to the Lo-Down blog, residents worried that the block would become littered with bars and plagued with late night noise.
The restaurant's backers said they hoped to open a "family friendly" restaurant, serving Jewish comfort food. They defended their request for a full liquor license, saying they wanted to attract a European clientele.
But the Lo-Down reports that residents felt the concept reminded them of Les Enfants Terribles, a popular late-night hangout around the corner.
The corner of Essex and Canal remains a shuttered storefront. No Jewish comfort food coming to the edge of Chinatown for now.
5. Grand Park
A glass-enclosed Italian restaurant is coming to Grand Street after Community Board 3 twice approved restaurateur Jesse Hartman's application for a liquor license this year.
The board had approved his application back in June, but lease negotiations with his landlord, the Seward Park Co-op, dragged on for months. Hartman — known for East Village spots Two Boots and Mo Pitkin's — had no choice but to return to the committee in November to ask for an extension.
His application was unanimously approved, but not before the hearing once again became a battleground between the restaurateur and a handful of disgruntled residents.
Grand Park promises to be a "fine dining, family friendly restaurant," according to Hartman.
The proposed restaurant will be at 365 Grand St., on the corner of Grand and Essex, and in between two neighborhood mainstays, East Broadway Kosher bakery and Kossar's Bialys.
Some residents worried that such an establishment, which would stay open until 4 a.m., would change the character of the neighborhood by bringing noise and traffic.
But others came out to defend Hartman's plan, describing vacant storefronts and a co-op struggling with deficits because of a bad economy.
Hartman has said that the glass enclosure would be made sound proof. Watch for construction to start in the New Year.
