Joey Degraw | The Lo-Down : News from the Lower East Side

The National Underground Will Reopen Next Week

The National Underground on East Houston Street plans to reopen next week after passing its health department reinspection this afternoon.

Rock club The National Underground passed a reinspection from the city’s health department today, but will not be reopening tonight, as co-owner Joey DeGraw had hoped. A sign on the door this afternoon called it “good news and bad news.” It’s unclear whether it will reopen on Monday, June 20 or Tuesday, June 21. You can read all the background here.

National Underground Plans to Reopen, Bands Kvetch

Joey DeGraw hopes to reopen The National Underground tomorrow night.

In the six days since the city’s health department shut The National Underground down, Joey DeGraw has been up late cleaning out his walk-in cooler, installing new bathroom vents and caulking the floorboards of his stage. A crew of employees and volunteer NYC musicians who are regulars at his East Houston Street joint have rolled up their sleeves to help him tackle a list of violations that brought the club’s 75-shows-a-week business to a screeching halt. A re-inspection is scheduled for tomorrow; if it goes well, the music resumes tomorrow night. In the meantime, DeGraw doesn’t have a lot of time for complainers.