UPPER WEST SIDE — Popular bar and restaurant Jacob's Pickles got the go-ahead from Community Board 7 Tuesday night to open a basement bar that will serve as a "quieter," more intimate locale for guests, staff said.
The reservation-only subterranean bar will focus mainly on drinks but offer some food options while seating roughly 30 people, said Jacob's general manager Arsham Kamli.
Jacob's still needs approval from the State Liquor Authority (SLA) before it can serve drinks in the new space. Assuming it is approved, the restaurant is not yet sure when it will open the new bar, a spokeswoman said.
Previously, CB7's Business and Consumer Issues committee rejected the application for the new bar after residents who live above the Amsterdam Avenue restaurant complained about high noise levels that filter upwards into their apartments.
Second-floor resident Martha Duke said the volume of music at the restaurant was so high that watching TV or having a phone conversation in her apartment were impossible.
"I just want some assurance that if they get the bar below, it’s not going to turn into craziness," Duke told board members Tuesday.
Kamli added that Jacob's lowered its wall speakers by 2 feet and was now limiting its music volume.
Board member Brian Jenks reminded his colleagues and Duke that the board is not an enforcement agency and that it has to take restaurant operators at their word.
In this case, board members agreed to accept Kamli's pledge that music levels would not increase beyond an agreed-upon level.
The board approved the restaurant's application for an amended liquor license, allowing it to operate the new bar after approval from the SLA.
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