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 21 Essex Street; the former home of Sneaktip could become a new bar and cafe. Community Board 3 is out with its July meeting agendas, including the lineup for the State Liquor Authority Committee. There aren’t many licenses relevant below Houston Street next month, but we’ll highlight a few interesting items.
First off, the owners of a new bar at 21 Essex Street will be back before the committee. They withdrew their application this month in light of opposition from a group of residents. Ten Bells, the Broome Street wine bar, will be pitching the board on its expansion plan. Also, the new Holiday Inn on Delancey Street will return to CB3 in its quest for a liquor license. Click through to see the full lineup. Continue reading CB3 Details July Liquor License Applications
 
 Gigi Li and Dominic Berg at last night’s Community Board 3 meeting. A leadership transition for Community Board 3 last night. Gigi Li was elected to serve as chair, after Dominic Berg chose not to run for a fifth one year term. Li, a Chinatown resident, is co-director of the Neighborhood Family Services Coalition. Previously Li was CB3′s 2nd vice chair. She is the first Chinese American to serve as chairperson of any New York community board.
During the meeting, Berg was praised for his dedication to the community. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver presented him with a state proclamation. Outgoing state Senator Tom Duane spoke in glowing terms about Berg, who has played a major role in advocating for gay rights and marriage equality. Erik Bottcher, Governor Cuomo’s community liaison, was also on hand to express gratitude to Berg for his service. Continue reading Gigi Li Elected Chair of Community Board 3; High Praise For Outgoing Chair Dominic Berg
 221 East Broadway. After a long and sometimes contentious debate, Community Board 3 decided last night to support a liquor license for a new bar at 221 East Broadway. The vote was 26-11 in favor of the proposal with one member abstaining. A dozen members of the board were not present when the vote finally took place, close to 11 p.m.
The application from Sivan Harlap and Andrew States had divided members of the Seward Park Cooperative, which is located across the street from the building in which the bar will be located. Members of Primitive Christian Church on East Broadway, including its influential pastor, Marc Rivera, opposed the application. Earlier this month, CB3′s liquor licensing panel deadlocked, so it was up to the full board to hash it out. Continue reading CB3 Approves Controversial Bar Proposal at 221 East Broadway
 Rendering: NYC Economic Development Corp. It was big news Tuesday night when Community Board 3 broke a half-century long stalemate, voting unanimously to approve the city’s Seward Park Mixed-Use Development Plan. We already reported the basic story — now here’s a more detailed account from the historic meeting.
The city is now preparing for the next phase in the land use review process, in which Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer (a mayoral candidate) will have an opportunity to make his mark on the plan. But there was obviously a huge sense of relief late Tuesday, after several days of tense negotiations with CB3 Chair Dominic Berg and City Council member Margaret Chin. The sticking point, affordable housing “in perpetuity” for half of the project’s 900 rental apartments, threatened to undermine three-and-a-half years of painstaking negotiations. Continue reading Community Board 3 Ends 45 Years of Rancor, Approves Seward Park Plan
 The Seward Park site, looking south on Delancey Street. Photo by Vivienne Gucwa. Last night, Community Board 3 decided 45 years was long enough to wait for the redevelopment of the Seward Park parcels, in the shadow of the Williamsburg Bridge. In a unanimous vote, CB3 approved the city’s land use application for the 1.65 million square foot project, which would bring hundreds of new apartments, shops and community facilities to the Lower East Side. The decision ends decades of acrimony about the future of the site, the largest city-owned development property below 96th Street.
Last week, nine members of CB3′s land use committee voted against the proposal because it did not guarantee that the affordable housing built on the Seward Park site would remain permanently affordable. But in a last minute deal with City Council member Margaret Chin and CB3, city officials relented, upping their commitment from 60 years for the affordable units. Continue reading A Deal Four Decades in the Making: CB3 Approves Seward Park Plan
 Seward Park redevelopment area. As we have been reporting, Community Board 3 meets tonight to vote on the Seward Park Mixed-Use Development Plan. Board members will be asked to approve the city’s land use proposal for the large site near the Williamsburg Bridge, before the proposal goes to the Borough President.
Late yesterday, CB3 posted on its web site the draft resolution that will be considered this evening. It approves the Seward Park Plan, but lays out a number of “conditions.” Last week, the land use committee voted 13-9 (with one member not voting) in support of the proposed resolution.
Here are some of the key conditions detailed in the document:
- A requirement that the affording housing built on the parcels remain affordable forever, as opposed to 60 years as the city has proposed.
- A provision requiring developers to include housing, including 50% affordable housing, in each phase of construction.
- The creation of a task force made up of up to seven community board members, representatives of local City Council members, a representative of the Borough President and two representatives of two local “stakeholder groups.” The advisory task force would have a role in drafting selection criteria for developers and would review development proposals. Continue reading Tonight’s Big Vote: CB3 Releases Draft Seward Park Resolution
Rendering: NYC Economic Development Corp. Tomorrow night Community Board 3 is scheduled to hold one of its most significant votes in several years — deciding whether to approve of the city’s land use application (ULURP) for the Seward Park Mixed Development Plan. After three years of deliberations on the fate of nine parcels near the Williamsburg Bridge, CB3 leaders hoped for a near-unanimous vote in favor of the plan to build 900 new apartments and up to 650,000 square feet of commercial space on the site. But last week CB3′s land use committee was divided on the issue (13 ‘yes’-9 ‘no’-1 ‘not voting’), and it’s likely several members of the full board will vote ‘no’ tomorrow.
After the community board acts, the proposal goes on to the Manhattan Borough President, to the City Planning Commission and finally to the City Council. While CB3′s support is not technically required, some are concerned that a rejection from the board (or even a tepid endorsement) would prompt the city to walk away from the project. Continue reading CB3 Votes on Seward Park Plan Tomorrow
 103 Essex Street. Le Lupanar, the restaurant/lounge at 103 Essex Street, is a step closer to reopening, 14 months after a run-in with the NYPD over underage drinking allegations. This week, Community Board 3′s liquor licensing committee voted 3-2 in favor of an application from owner Kieter Chan to extend the establishment’s hours from midnight to 4 a.m.
In April of last year, Chan voluntarily closed the restaurant after the police department filed a civil suit in State Supreme Court. In addition to underage drinking allegations, there were complaints about late night noise outside the business, which is sandwiched between a parking garage and McDonald’s, just across from the Essex Street Market. The complaint also noted that Le Lupanar, which was opened as a French restaurant five years ago, morphed into a bar/club and extended its hours without gaining proper approvals from CB3 and the State Liquor Authority. Continue reading Essex Street Nightlife Spot Le Lupanar Moves Closer to Reopening
 The Seward Park site, looking south on Delancey Street. Photo by Vivienne Gucwa/nythroughthelens.com. Community Board 3′s land use committee last night voted in favor of the Seward Park Mixed-Use Development Plan, but no one one was in much of a mood to celebrate the occasion. After three years of deliberations, a divided panel excoriated city officials for “betraying their trust” by rejecting several key community priorities. Now the focus turns to next week’s full board meeting, where all 50 members will be asked to support the city’s land use application for a 7-acre site that has languished for four decades.
We’ll have a detailed report later, but here are the basic details from last night’s tense meeting. City Council members Margaret Chin and Rosie Mendez addressed the committee before deliberations got underway. They urged CB3 to approve the city’s land use application and vowed to fight for the things missing from the proposal in the months ahead. The Council must approve the ULURP (Uniform Land Use Review Procedure) document; the community board’s opinion is not binding but crucial nonetheless. “Vote tonight based on your courage and commitment, not on your fear,” Chin advised. Continue reading CB3 Panel Approves Seward Park Plan; 9 Members Vote “No,” Citing City Betrayal
Don’t you just love visual aids? This particular graphic explains most everything you need to know about Cocktail Bodega, the fruit-smoothie themed lounge from Sons of Essex operators Matt Levine and Michael Shah. Last night, Community Board 3′s alcohol licensing committee signaled its approval for a liquor permit at 205 Chrystie/19 Stanton.
Levine said there will be a restaurant on the first floor — a lounge on the lower level. Chef Roble (of Bravo-TV fame) is designing the menu, which will offer new twists to traditional street food. The applicants came to the meeting last night with letters from residents in support of the project, and more than a dozen people prepared to speak in favor of the concept. Shah, a real estate developer, recently purchased the building.
The CB3 committee signed off on a 4 a.m. closing time seven days a week. They did ask the operators to come up with a traffic management plan, since the area around Chrystie and Stanton is nightlife heavy. The Box is right there, as well as new venue Experimental Cocktail Club and the re-branded Inga at 141 Chrystie.
 Paulaner Brauhaus rendering; Morali Architects. At last night’s Community Board 3 meeting, there was a setback for the team planning to open Paulaner Brauhaus, a 4,000 square foot beer hall at 265 Bowery. Rudy Tauscher, the general manager of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, appeared before CB3′s liquor licensing committee to explain the grand plans for the space previously occupied by a restaurant equipment company.
Tauscher said the new venue will allow him to return to his German roots in family dining, after a long career running big hotels (he’s worked in New York for 17 years). Paulaner beer will be brewed on premises at the 250 seat restaurant (the famed German brewery awarded Tauscher licensing rights). The restaurant would open at 7 a.m., offering baked goods and other breakfast items. There would be lunch service and, of course, dinner until midnight weeknights and 1 a.m. weekends. Continue reading CB3 Panel Asks Paulaner Brauhaus to Make Nice with the Neighbors
Rendering: NYC Economic Development Corp. On Wednesday evening, members of Community Board 3 will meet one last time before a key vote next week to support or oppose the city’s land use application for the Seward Park Redevelopment Plan. The proposal outlines the redevelopment of nine parcels near the Williamsburg Bridge, creating hundreds of new apartments, dozens of new stores and community facilities. This week’s meeting is a strategy session which will help to determine how hard CB3 will press the city on several issues. Among those topics is the creation of a new public school somewhere on the Seward Park site.
City officials declined to allow for a school in the Seward Park application even though CB3 called for one in its planning guidelines. The Economic Development Corp. (which is leading the development project) consulted with the Education Department, and were told there is neither a need for a new school on the Lower East Side nor the capital funds to construct a school building. The addition of 900 new apartments (which is what the plan allows for) would not lead to overcrowding in the neighborhood’s existing schools, the DOE argued. Continue reading CB3 Weighs Whether to Fight For School on Seward Park Site
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