By Tara Kyle
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — The smell of roasting pig won’t be wafting down Bond Street next month.
Under pressure from some neighborhood residents, the Italian/Spanish eatery Il Buco in NoHo has withdrawn a street-permit application to hold its annual pig roast on Sept. 26.
“It’s very sad,” said Il Buco general manager John Cassanos.
Owner Donna Lennard made the decision to cancel the event on Thursday night, just before heading to a Community Board 2 meeting for a vote on the application, Cassanos said.
The trouble for Il Buco’s pig roast, a tradition since 2004, began in January, when the owners applied for a liquor license for their new restaurant opening next year at 52 Great Jones St.
Community Board 2 passed a resolution recommending approval of the liquor license contingent on several conditions, including the cancellation of the pig roast, which has been held outside the eatery at 47 Bond St., due to pressure from local residents.
“It sets a precedent that for any neighborhood becomes unmanageable, unwanted and even hazardous,” said Zella Jones, who lives behind Il Buco and is one of the leaders of the opposition, in an e-mail.
“There are more than 25 restaurants within 500 feet of this particular location, all of whom would like to or could hold an event in the street that touts their business.”
But Il Buco will try to resurrect the pig roast in 2011, Cassanos noted. The pressure of putting together plans for the new Great Jones Street restaurant, as well as Lennard’s recent wedding, contributed to her decision to pull out in 2010.
“Even though we got literally hundreds of e-mails of support, the owner just felt like she didn’t have the stomach for a fight,” Cassanos said.
