If it were April 1st, I would think that this was an April Fools' Joke. But, tragically, it's not the 1st of April and it's no joke.
It appears that Barrio Foods Consulting will be applying for a liquor license for Oval Cafe. A hearing by Community Board Six is scheduled for 7pm, Thursday, March 27, 2014, at Baruch College's Information & Technology Building, 151 E. 25th St., NY, NY, 10010 7th Fl. Rm. 763.
The reason is probably simple: Oval Cafe has not been making money, and now there's a need to aggressively go after profits by introducing alcohol for "residents and their guests." That rumor about the kids' corner at the Cafe being eliminated makes sense now.
Quite simply, this is an outrage, and our stewards, CWCapital and CompassRock, should be thoroughly embarrassed to allow the selling and drinking of alcohol in the Oval--and the Oval Cafe is in the Oval. But, of course, they are not embarrassed, because profits are all they think about. Who cares in those companies about the destruction of the Oval and this community? We've seen the Oval area devastated in the last year, so why not pile on more tackiness? more drunken behavior? more garbage and trash? more rowdiness? more urination (the human kind) on the grass and paths?
You know, not only here on this blog, but elsewhere, tenants used to joke about the possible sale of alcohol inside PCVST for the ever-increasing student and "bro" community, but these were pointed jokes, nothing more. It astounds me that our stewards would be so out-of-touch with the history of this community, the standards this community has lived under, and the family environment that was once the beacon for potential renters.
Every time the Oval is marred, I keep saying, "It can't get worse." But now it has. Or has the potential to get worse, much worse, if Community Board Six okays the liquor license.
I would urge tenants to fight against this introduction of alcohol to the Oval. Let Community Board Six--and our politicians--hear our complaints. I hope that the Tenants Association will likewise take a vigorous stance against this plan. At this point, it appears that its president is acting on his own in opposing the sale of alcohol in the Oval. That surely should, and must, change.
UPDATE: If PCVST were a united community (and it's not due to the shenanigans of our recent landlords) this plan would fail. The community as a whole would boycott Oval Cafe until the sale of alcohol was stopped. Faced with a complete loss of income, the Cafe would have to rescind its alcohol for sale business.
Also, when are we going to get tough on the "for residents and their guests" rule when the Cafe does not card anyone? Surely, that "residents and their guests" necessity is not being adhered to all the time, and therefore, the proper zoning of that space is dubious at the very least.
Another UPDATE: This is winnable, I feel. If enough tenants show up at the hearing, if our local politicians show up also, then the Community Board will have to listen and approach the issue without a rubber stamp.
UPDATE: 3/25/14 - A link to the famous "Fight Club" incident at Oval Lounge, now Oval Cafe. Alcohol was pouring freely for this special gathering of brokers.
53 comments:
I would hope the parents and mom's groups would go to the meeting an oppose this. Especially right across from the toddler play areas.
I applaud the one Board member of the TA (who obviously has a pair) who came out and denounced this plan. We need for the TA in its total organizational capacity to come out against this. If they don't rise to this occasion, then I think they should just disband and go away.
As for CW/Compass Rock being our "stewards," they are far from that. They are parasites and destroyers. Exploitation is the only thing they are about. They disgust me to the point of wanting to throw up just reading or hearing their name.
We have Garodnick the thank for this. When residents pushed back on commercial endeavors Garodnick's reply "be quiet residents because they can legally do it." A defense one would expect to hear from a lawyer for CW compass rock.
PCVST went from being a community where the middle class raised families to a NYU campus with a strip mall, campus security, and now a bar because there aren't enough bars surrounding here already. Brought to you by NYU Ken Langone, NYU Michael Novogratz and their besttie Cuomo and his crew.
The students are already peeing and puking in our building stairways. Having sex in our building lobbies and elevators. Really don't need anymore bars contributing to their drunken stupors.
Has anyone asked the 13th precinct on their POV on this?
I don't know anyone in the 13th precinct, but I would think they don't give a damn. Perhaps they would if our Public Safety chief approached them (I doubt he's thrilled with his force having to contend with more drunkenness in this community), but I doubt he's going to go against the bosses here, as he works for them.
And we are just hearing about it now?
Be glad it's not AFTER the Community Board okay-ed the license!
Sadly it could get even worse with a liquor license because Barrio Foods Consulting does mostly "Events".
So the purpose would be to have events with Large Group gatherings, Parties, Happy Hours, Sports Bar like atmosphere at the Oval Bar.
It will surely coincide with the Band Music Events at the Oval field.
Drink fests.
Doesn't the SLA have restrictions on how far from a playground you can open a licensed establishment ?
that will surely bring drunken Halloweens, Santa Con, and St Patricks Days.
Of course Oval Cafe isn't bringing in money. Sean Sullivan and his team that "was brainstorming ways to entertain residents" didn't listen to us when we said we don't want to be entertained!
We just want to come home.
This is our home with our kids and families.
Not a party venue.
Is the NYU Langone the same Langone who is the CEO of Home Depot? The same guy who recently dissed the Pope for his remarks on capitalism and greed? The same guy who is proudly a Knight of Columbus? The same guy who is a total fucking hypocrite? If so, I think we should boycott Home Depot and as far as his name being on NYU's Medical Center logo, don't they realize that people like Ken Langone are a cancer of the worst kind themselves?
Just great - more students stumbling back to their dormitories and red plastic cups littering about.
Its not just the toddlers this will negatively effect. Our high school age teens will surely have their older friends get them liquor while they wait on the benches or in the Oval grass.
Liquor does not belong here and should not be sold here!!!!!
Disgusting assault against families by CW Compass Rock.
Seriously this is another outright assault against the families who enjoy the safety that once was PCVST.
A true beer garden would be more better
Historically Community Board Six has rubber stamped every construction and commercial endeavor in PCVST.
CB6 should be renamed CWB6.
Community Board 6 has destroyed this Community.
Just who are they serving?
Just like to add...I see little kids playing in the wood chips and plants that ring the small fountain in PCV. This is one of the favorite places of dog owners who bring their dogs there to pee. Dog owners are also lifting their dogs over the fenced off areas. People are also now crossing into these same areas that that totally fenced off to do whatever. They & their kids are playing right in the same areas that dogs are shitting & pissing. What is is going to take for there to be some rules & enforcement?
This place sure gone crazy.
>>What is is going to take for there to be some rules & enforcement?<<
I see dog owners letting their dogs inside the fencing more and more. Obviously, Public Safety, with its award-winning monitoring system, can easily catch these dog violations, but they don't, because no one cares.
6:43 yes that is the same Ken Langone.
Why didn't they designate a dog friendly area when they started to allow dogs? In this entire complex where is it dog friendly?
The problem is not the dogs.
Its the management not designating dog friendly areas and its a few bad parents who don't pick up after their dogs and kids.
The adults are responsible.
Not the dogs and not the kids. So please can we stop taking it out on the dogs or the screaming kids?
Bottom line, people have to show up at the CB6 meeting. Posting here and then saying “I’m too busy to go” is what they are counting on. If CWC/CR still controls this dump next year, what are the betting odds that they will apply for a liqueur license for the next incarnation of the “Winter Wonderland”? And I’m sorry, the FB posters at the TA FB page who are complaining that kid’s corner at the Café will be gone, they are the ones who supported commercialization of the Oval. You reap what you sow.
I tweeted the Oval STR link to Heather Holland of DNAinfo NY who reports on our area as a story that needs to be reported on ASAP. We need more media coverage and a strong turnout at the CB 6 meeting.
Speaking of dogs, the other day I was walking through the Oval and I swear I heard the following:
Prospective tenant to PCVST leasing agent:
"Is there a dog run?"
Response: "Yes, across the street."
Other than Kathy Lee & Hoda, I don't see a big demand for day drinkers. How late is the cafe open till? Weekend bottomless brunches wouldn't be a bad idea?
The dog run IS across the street, it's across 1st Avenue and down the block in Stuyvesant Square Park. But that's like saying that Europe is across the street, cause nobody would bother to walk the block to get there.
"Why didn't they designate a dog friendly area when they started to allow dogs?"
Because Jerry and Robbie Speyer are the worst kind of morons--the kind with power. But...
"In this entire complex where is it dog friendly?"
The answer to that is nowhere. Yes, there are lots of open spaces, but they're all under someone's window and/or are sloping spaces. A bunch of dog owners decided to use the space between my building and the next as a dog run, and I had to listen to barking all afternoon.
The only exception is the Oval--the center is farthest from any building. So how about that area? Any bets on whether our tip-top management would keep a dog run clean? I certainly wouldn't count on the users to do it based on how some people treat the laundry rooms and recycling areas.
"Why didn't they designate a dog friendly area when they started to allow dogs? In this entire complex where is it dog friendly?
The problem is not the dogs.
Its the management not designating dog friendly areas and its a few bad parents who don't pick up after their dogs and kids.
The adults are responsible.
Not the dogs and not the kids. So please can we stop taking it out on the dogs or the screaming kids?"
The thing is this though: when dogs were not allowed there was no piss and shit. Who would have thought?
"Yes, across the street."
Well, I guess he’s slightly “technically” correct since there is a dog run in Stuyvesant Square Park off Second Avenue between 15th and 17th streets. But there is no dog run in PCVST. And there will never be one for very good reasons.
When you're in the middle of the Oval, Stuyvesant Square Park is not "across the street." The agent also responded as if it were PCVST's own dog run.
WTH? why are some residents receiving letters of termination?
Aren't they / we allowed to renew, not terminate? I'M SOOOO CONFUSED.
see the posts on fb.
1204 .....why do you think there will never be a dog run?
Putting in a bar at Oval Lounge.
Might as well build a dog run.
Just wait and see.
BTW I'm opposed to any type of dog run on the premises. I also think that selling alcoholic beverages in the Oval Cafe is a bad bad bad idea.
MANAGEMENT WILL DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO MAKE A BUCK. THEY ARE DESPICABLE.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/11/jimmy-mcmillan-rent-still-too-damn-high_n_4421600.html?utm_hp_ref=ny-real-estate
NY Rent Absurdities
From Town & Village newspaper: "CW requests, then pulls request for wine and beer license at Oval Café"
http://town-village.com/2014/03/25/cw-requests-then-pulls-request-for-wine-and-beer-license-at-oval-cafe/
Dan Garodnick and the TA built this. Thanks for nothing. Can we sue Garodnick and the TA????
Isn't there a TA board member who is on CB6? If so, is CB6 in on the ruination of PCVST?
Its the management not designating dog friendly areas and its a few bad parents who don't pick up after their dogs and kids.
How about right under your window??
According to T&V, CWC pulled request.
Putting a bar in the Oval is one of the most despicable ideas yet fostered by these greedy bastards, and might just force the issue of "accessory use" by having a commercial restaurant in a residential zoned area. They are violating the zoning laws there, and they know it. Just too bad that the TA doesn't have the balls to get them thrown out. Doesn't anyone think the DeBlasio administration just might be a bit more tenant friendly and help us out here ?
Now that CW has pulled the request for a liquor license for Oval Cafe from this week's CB6 agenda, don't be surprised if they try to put it on the agenda of another CB6 meeting at the very last minute, hoping to minimize the ability of ST residents to object to it. I put nothing past CW in its efforts to screw tenants and to destroy QOL in STPCV.
Since its opening in the summer of 2012, Oval Café has sold coffee, pastries and sandwiches and in the summer, offered a clear view of sunbathers on the lawn.
Ironically, though there was never a liquor license previously at Oval Café or the amenity space that came before it, Oval Lounge, it was once the site of a bar brawl. It was there where brokers for then-owner Tishman Speyer got into a fight at a private party, with one getting bashed over the head with a beer bottle.
I remember when there was a drunken brawl at a private reception that Tishman Speyer held for their brokers. I didn't witness it, but I remember reading about it on the old Lux Living blog. His sarcasm and satire were a brilliant combination.
Nice mention in the T&V article. Most influential local blog - STR.
The "broker brawl" was at a private event where the caterer carried the liquor license. Oval Lounge never had one. We researched it on the SLA website at the time.
Good point 2:56
That is a loop hole that should have been closed. This proves that. Who would we contact to close the accessory loophole that is being exploited and abused - The Attorney General?
Yes, I'm sure in CW's thinking that PCV is the dog run. There are areas here that are open, that have no plants except for some trees and are covered with wood chips. So the people with dogs go there. And they over everywhere. Right on the sidewalks, over the fences, into the fountain area. No place is out of bounds.
I was at a birthday party at Oval Lounge and beer was served. The person throwing party bought a dozen cases of beer to the lounge and the staff served it. No questions asked! No one had license.
The comment section is supposed to allow people to comment on your posts (the negative and hateful tone is getting old by the way)and read other people's comments. If you only publish comments that agree with your point of view, you are not allowing readers to see both standpoints. Some of us love living here--we love living in a place where we can bring our kids to apple seeds, spend the cold winter evenings doing something fun like skate at the ice rink, and grab a bite at the Oval Café with our families. A glass of wine on the Oval Café patio on a summer night sounds like a beautiful evening to me. I really see nothing wrong with it. Try smiling before you go to write your blog posts. If you let yourself, you may even begin to enjoy living here!
I don't "only" publish comments that agree with my point of view, but I'm also wary of letting through troll comments or comments by those connected with management. And, as I've noted in the past, this is an advocacy blog. For affordable housing. For quality management. For the landlord doing the right thing.
So you love everything about this place? You've hit the key selling points from the leasing office. Apple Seeds, Ice Rink, wine on the Oval.... You probably also love the removal of plants and trees around the Oval, the dog crap residue everywhere you go, the new, overwhelming Security Office, the noise from party animals, the lack of proper laundry facilities (I'm sure you love the candy machines in particular!), etc, etc. Don't worry, management will probably build you a 7-11 on the Oval, too.
“spend the cold winter evenings doing something fun like skate at the ice rink”
Yes, the “Winter Wonderland”, which has seen two re-incarnations post Sandy. Where major financial and personnel resources (staff and PS) have been allocated to basically a marketing tool while there are several buildings in PCV which STILL do not have working basements for recycling, bike storage and laundry facilities post Sandy. In my opinion, soon to come next year, an application for a wine and beer license there as well. With current management, you can count on that.
“A glass of wine on the Oval Café patio on a summer night sounds like a beautiful evening to me.”
Yes while watching tenants and non-tenants walk their forbidden breeds past you as they piss and then take shits right in front of you. And then walk away without picking the feces up.
You do realize that your Oval Cafe Kid’s Corner will be history once the Oval Café, a so called “residents and their guests only” tenant amenity (ROLO) will be history once they get their beer and wine license. Here is a copy and paste from another parent who posted in the most current STR blog Oval Café tread, “The Plan for Serving Alcohol in Oval Café Folds”. This person has come to their senses. When will you?
“Agree with an earlier post - they devised a plan to first win over permission from moms and parents by pretending to offer children / family recreation in commercial endeavors in the Oval so they could construct their buildings. Then turn those buildings into non-family friendly commercial endeavors for profits. CW deliberately used us parents to diminish resistance to the Oval commercialization, by scamming us parents/moms. Sorry.”
I'm mystified by the self-imposed provincialism of the people who want to have every possible service and convenience only steps from their front door. It's a big, fantastic city out there. Why limit yourself? It's not as though management is providing "amenities" of unmatched splendor and excitement. As a kid I used to ice skate in Central Park every Sunday--Rockefeller Center was considered too puny a rink by me and my friends. We would have laughed ourselves silly over management's lilliputian facility. If I want to have a drink or a cup of coffee, do I really want to go to the same place all the time? Sure, we all have our favorite places, but it's good to change things up, see what's on the other side of the street.
9:07 sounds like a management shill, if ever there was one. I wonder if he/she also enjoys living without heat and having to wear a hoodie indoors and huddle over a space heater?
Tonight it is 40 degrees outside and there is not a smidge of heat in my apartment and there hasn't been all day long. Two calls to Resident Services resulted in nothing being done. I guess my next move is to call 311, not that that will do much good. CWCap has reduced this place to being a living hell for many of us, and it is deliberate and pre-meditated harassment.
I sympathize with Garodnick's loss, but if that man had half a ball (let alone a pair) he would have taken on this evil slumlord a long time ago. His wimpy letters to CW don't even add up to throwing us a bone.
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