Details Emerge About Ludlow Manor, Triplex Bar on Delancey

This morning, the NY Post reported that Ludlow Manor, the new outsized bar nearing completion at the corner of Delancey and Ludlow streets, has some celebrity cachet in backer Luc Carl, former manager of LES bar St. Jerome’s, and off-again, on-again playmate of local sweetheart Lady Gaga. From the Page Six story:

The hot spot will include a tapas restaurant, a rock club run by Carl and a revolving DJ roster at the rooftop bar, which will feature a retractable roof  and smoking area. “I want sexy people that care how their hair looks,” said Carl.

Friends of the metal rocker DJ, who plans to publish a book about losing weight while drinking heavily (“The Drunk Diet,” due out March 2012), got a private preview of his new 480-patron venue at a Halloween party Monday night. Judging from the Twitter chatter, it was quite the scene, with music by the Rivington Rebels.

News of Carl’s involvement was just the latest development in a busy run-up to opening day for the bar’s backers, who include Georgie Seville and the folks behind The Delancey, another rooftop bar just a few blocks east.

Last month, they appeared before Community Board 3’s liquor license subcommittee to plead for two additional bar areas; so far, only the tapas restaurant on the ground floor has gotten the green light. The owners are seeking permits to serve alcohol on the roof terrace, which will hold 85 people, as well as the middle level.

At the meeting, an attorney representing Ludlow Manor  seemed caught off-guard when CB3 member David Conn noted that residents of the Lower East Side wouldn’t necessarily consider it good news that the bar’s business plan calls for drawing patrons from the eastern end of SoHo, tourists and Wall Street.

Representatives from the bar that night included a director of security from The Delancey, who addressed concerns about crowd control by saying there would be ample licensed security, valet parking and other protective measures, but Conn was unswayed.

CB3 member David McWater said there’s no doubt such a huge venue would change the character and the “economic structure” of the neighborhood, expressing concerns about the impact on smaller businesses potentially displaced as rents skyrocket. McWater also drew attention to the traffic safety issues on Delancey, which ranks among the city’s most dangerous intersections for pedestrians and cyclists.

But Ludlow Manor drew support from CB3 member Ariel Palitz, a bar owner herself, who argued there are too few large venues these days, and that the owners had proven their ability to run a big bar at The Delancey.

At the urging of CB3 members, the nightclub withdrew its application for a revamp. While Carl has said publicly on his blog he plans to open Ludlow Manor by the end of the month, the November CB3 agenda does not include a reapplication.