LOWER EAST SIDE — Representatives for reportedly rowdy nightclub Happy Ending failed to show up at a public meeting regarding the renewal of its liquor license after abruptly requesting to withdraw the application — a move community members called manipulative.
But that didn’t stop the local board from shooting down the request for renewal due to a litany of complaints from neighbors.
Community Board 3’s State Liquor Authority Subcommittee voted to recommend the city deny the club at 302 Broome St. its renewal, citing excessive noise complaints — roughly 135 in the past year, according to city records — and an apparent unwillingness to work with beleaguered neighbors.
Neighbors to the bar, which bills itself as a “French restaurant and dance club,” say they have endured many sleepless nights as a result of the music and loud crowds that pour into the street in the early morning hours.
“Ever since this nightclub has opened, our lives have been miserable,” said Gladys Stambakis, who has lived in her Forsyth Street apartment for 25 years. “We can’t sleep…I actually have missed days of work.”
Stambakis, a family worker at a day care center, says her autistic teen son has also been tossing and turning since the club opened its doors under new management in 2014, often leaving the apartment in distress.
Neighbors spoke of loud crowds congregating on the sidewalk below apartment windows, excessive bass levels, and even brawls in the street.
But the complaints have fallen on deaf ears — neighbors’ repeated attempts to contact the club owners have gone ignored, they said.
“There is no contact information for the owners and managers,” said Broome Street resident Jeff Lawrence. “There’s nothing we have in our power to do but come [to board meetings] and call 311.”
The owners and managers maintained their reputation of unavailability this week, making a last-minute request to withdraw their application and then failing to send anyone to the meeting to address community complaints, CB3 officials said.
But the board opted to dole out a denial rather than wait for a rescheduled hearing. Board member Carol Kostik — who called the bar "a blight on the neighborhood" — expressed apprehension that the owner may be “manipulating the process,” while some neighbors speculated the applicant may be trying to go straight to the SLA without first going through the community board.
The bar's liquor license expires on Sept. 30, according to the SLA website.
Reps for Happy Ending did not return requests for comment.
