Last night, Paulaner Brauhaus owner Rudy Tauscher invited the neighbors to 265-267 Bowery, the future home of his 4,000 square foot restaurant. As you might recall, Tauscher withdrew his liquor application at last month’s Community Board 3 hearing, after local residents complained they had not been properly consulted about the proposed beer hall.
Neighbors crowded into the entry of the former kitchen supply store, engaging in a sometimes tense conversation with Tauscher and Anthony Morali, his architect. Morali explained the soundproofing plan for the building, as skeptical residents living above the ground floor commercial space looked on. Addressing concerns that customers of the brew house would bring more late night congestion and noise to the already noisy and congested Bowery, Tauscher emphasized that there would be ample security at the front door. He said Paulaner Brauhaus would close at 1 a.m. on weekends and would not morph into a late night club. Arguing that his restaurant would improve the block Tauscher gestured to the sidewalk, saying, “it’s so filthy out there… I picked up (the garbage) myself tonight.”
One resident told Tauscher, “you need to listen to the concerns of the neighborhood. We don’t want to see velvet ropes out there.” Others complained that the soundproofing plan was too vague and they asked for more information. Following the meeting, 265 Bowery resident Tim Davis told us he’s hopeful an agreement can be hammered out in the next week, detailing various verbal promises Tauscher has made to the community. In spite of suggestions to the contrary, he said many residents had not been contacted about the plan until very recently.
An attorney handling the Paulaner Brauhaus liquor license application said he was told by the community board that there was no block association on the Bowery, and therefore, no single neighborhood group that could be contacted about the proposal. Members of the Bowery Alliance of Neighbors, a preservation group, came out in force last night to help represent the community’s interests. In recent days, a new organization, the Bowery/Stanton Block Association, has been created. Davis said it included residents of 275-267 Bowery and other buildings, including 10 Stanton Street and the Avalon Chrystie.
John Gorman, the lawyer representing Craig Murray, who has an=minority interest in the company that owns 265 Bowery, said his client has serious concerns about Tauscher’s proposal. Murray has co-owned the building for many years, acquiring it from the city for artists living and working on the Bowery. Gorman said he is worried about the welfare of the family living on the second floor.
Tauscher is the general manager of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel at the Time Warner Center. He acquired a license from the Paulaner Brewery to open the restaurant.
He will return to Community Board 3’s SLA committee next Monday. We’ll see if Tauscher and residents of the Bowery can come to an agreement before then.
Thank you! However, the group that came out in force was the Bowery/Stanton Block Association through the efforts of Tim and Vanessa who went door to door – not BAN. We are saturated with bars that open until 4am (good news is that this venture proposes to close at 1am/12am).
-There are 8 full liquor licensed bars within the 500 foot rule already. -The Bowery is an emergency street and the traffic is already severely congested almost every night. – No matter how well intentioned this bar/restaurant is it will bring in potentially 250 more drinking patrons to this already overwhelmed and very noisy neighborhood.- This will be another high end place which most residents here will not be able to afford. It will continue the pressure on landlords to rent to high end drinking establishments.The neighbors are asking for a postponement of the applications so they can (in good faith) read the specs and have the time to think through what is being proposed. We’d like to have the chance to propose workable stipulations to insure we are all acting in good faith.
We have many elders here, a huge residential building at 10 Stanton Street, artists and their children live above almost every building on this street. We have SRO tenants struggling to survive here. We have the Bowery Mission working their tails off to help men get sober. We want diversity of small businesses: we have a hardware store, kitchen supply houses, grocery store, a museum and galleries and plenty of places to drink. This neighborhood does not want to be the “destination” site for drinkers. We’d like to sustain our unique collection of people and businesses.
This is not a bar or a sports pub. I’ve been to one abroad in the past. Although it is a Brauhaus, it is mainly a family restaurant focusing on German fare including a bakery. I believe people have gotten the wrong idea that there will be drunken idots pouring out of this place all because German beer is incorporated. I am open minded and believe this will continue to increase the vaule of the Bowery and the Lower East Side. The alcoholics at the Bowery Mission screwed up their own lives and in no way should affect the other residents of the Bowery or anyone else’s decision for that matter. Most of the people who oppose this seem to be senior citizens because they are less open minded and are very much afraid of change and are stuck in their old ways. This is a sign of the times. I for one am excited for this to come to the neighborhood. With the big timers that are heading up this place I’m not concerned about noise levels, garbage, etc. I’m confident they know what they are doing because if they don’t they will hear it from the city. I’m for it!
I don’t know who that man in the middle of the picture with the purple shirt is but good lord does he look good enough to eat.
LiveandLetLive, you have gotten it totally wrong about the people who question the opening of this bar/restaurant. These people come from all walks of life and are extremely concerned about the quality of life in their neighborhood. It is unfortunate that the East Village, Lower East Side and Bowery have become a drinking destination, resulting in these communities becoming war zones of noise, traffic and pedestrian congestion. The reason for the creation of the 500-foot rule was to prevent these problems that are now rampant in the community.
The Bowery has already changed and it’s not going back to the way it was 20 years ago. That’s something that the neighborhood has to accept and the younger generation does accept that. One family style restaurant isnot going to change the quality of life of the bowery residents anymore than it has already changed. The noise, traffic and pedestrian congestion will be there whether Paulaner opens or not. That’s just a sign of the times. These restaurants will inevitably pop up all along the Bowery and the surrounding neighborhoods. The question is will it be handled with professionalism and courtesy of the neighbors which I’m confident it will be considering the history of these people. This guy is the general manager of the Manadarin Oriental at the Time Warner Center. Now that’s big time! How can you have doubt in that? They will get shut down if they are disrespectful to us as neighbors. I believe this is a positive because who knows what the owners of the building could rent this space out to! It could be much worse and then we would really be doubtful. At least these people have an amazing reputation.
I belong to the “younger generation” and I can tell you that the Houston/Bowery intersection is becoming unsafe and unbearable due to traffic, congestion, and noise. A giant Brauhaus will probably make it worse, especially if the people running it have as little concern for the community as Liveandletlive. Obviously Liveandletlive has no idea what the neighborhood was or is, and has little sympathy for anyone who has ever lived in it or who ever will. His interests are clearly only business-minded – and “big time” business in particular – with little concern for listening to the community or engaging in dialogue. The “value of the neighborhood” cannot be increased by this approach alone, as it obviously represents the financial interests of transnational corporate big business rather than the concerns or local residents.
well…it appears the family who lived above the space (who were promised they were safe from eviction) have been in essence evicted because of the lead paint dust that is spewing up into their apartment by the restauranteurs contractor. Guess that didn’t quite work out they way you thought – “One family style restaurant is not going to change the quality of life of the bowery residents… ” I guess it is changing the quality of this family’s life!
As to your plan to protect against potential abuses by “professionals” with “amazing reputations”…who are “big time” and your high bar for what a community should expect for itself (“it could be much worse” )if this is your best effort at analysis I suggest you ask one of those “seniors” you mention to explain why a community organizes in the first place.
And as to the “alcoholics at the Bowery Mission” having “screwed up their own lives”… I think racism, the ruthlessness of capitalism on low income people,and/or the Vietnam/Iraq wars might have played a role when someone gives up so thoroughly. People just don’t decide to take that route because things are going swimmingly.
Oh and you might want to rethink describing yourself as “open-minded”.