Results tagged “neighbors”

First Norah Jones got criticized for a nouveau-Tuscany vibe in the kitchen of her new Cobble Hill home—now the songstress is moving right along with her renovation and allegedly sweet-talked the LPC into letting her have a little bit more light. Beautiful, warm, embracing light. Sounds innocent enough, but the NY Post reports that "neighbors don’t want a window into her soul — or home."

According to the AP, "Stonington [Connecticut] officials say a local couple doesn't have to take down a 100-square-foot sign with giant 'F' and 'U' on it, that's directed at neighbors they've feuded with."

The nightmare on Jane Street continues, though it still remains uncertain if the real nightmare is the Jane Hotel, or the wealthy NIMBYs who are unleashing every city agency upon their new neighbor.

Yesterday Curbed quietly pointed out that the West Village residents were rallying against the Jane Hotel, particularly the establishment's plan for a rooftop bar. Rumor has it neighbors were promised entrance to the place if they would just STFU, but since late last month they've been airing their complaints on a blog called Nightmare on Jane Street.

Patrick Swayze once memorably declared to Jerry Orbach, "No one puts Baby in the corner." But now a group of older men in Staten Island are declaring to their condo's board that "no one puts Poppy in the corner" either. The group of New Springville seniors call themselves "The Fined Five" after receiving $25 fines last winter when the board decided that their usual kibitzing in the lobby was loitering. The property manager said that "it's not a 55-and-older building," but compromised by finding them an unoccupied studio to hang out in. But now the men complain that they're being confined, with one saying, "I can't stay inside my sheetrock walls all day; I'll go crazy." So the Fined Five is suing the board, saying that their banishment is illegal and unnecessary. A neighbor whose apartment is adjoined to the lobby tells the SI Advance, "It's a bunch of old guys sitting around and talking about their wartime remembrances and fixing the motors in their cars. They're a lovely bunch of gentlemen." When asked what they do there, one of the Five told the Post, "We don't play Johnny on the pony in the lobby."

Neighbors aggrieved about guests chatting on the Cooper Square Hotel outdoor patio have employed increasingly gross tactics to undermine the cachet of downtown's latest fancy hotel. When co-owner Matt Moss previously promised that tenement clotheslines were exactly "the kind of thing people want to see," while paying upwards of $300 a night at the hotel, the neighbors called his bluff by hanging increasingly soiled unmentionables in full view of the patio and rooms. Last week the underwear on display was exceptionally foul, and now Vanishing New York reports that neighbors have further escalated the situation by hanging a "Douche Bag" from the fire escape. We're not really sure what a douche bag actually looks like (besides this), and we're sure as hell not about to do a Google image search on that, so it's unclear whether the item in question is literally the infamous feminine hygiene product. (And let's just keep it unclear, k thx.) What's next, colostomy bags and roadkill? Stay tuned to the Cooper Square Douchebags blog!

And the great 2009 hotel war rages on: Over the weekend, we showed you hellish video depicting a cacophonous multi-media roof party at the Thompson LES Hotel, documented by an understandably disgruntled neighbor. Today we're back over to the Cooper Square Hotel, where angry neighbors have been using bullhorns and dirty laundry to fight back at loud-talkers on that hotel's patio.

We've got to admit, when we heard that residents near the Thomspon LES Hotel were vehemently complaining about the noise from the hotel's new rooftop patios, we wondered if maybe they weren't overreacting just a tiny bit, considering that they choose to live in a part of Manhattan not exactly known as an oasis of tranquility. But good grief, check out this recent Thompson LES pool party, documented by a neighbor who should be credited for shooting video, not bullets.

It hasn't been open very long, but neighbors residing uncomfortably close to the new $100 million Cooper Square Hotel on the Bowery are already fed up with the noise reverberating from the hotel's various outdoor areas—which was only to be expected considering how many have bedroom windows facing the place. (Some just inches away from the outdoor bar!) To chronicle the escalating complaining, Vanishing New York has started a feature called "Notes from the Backside," and the first winning entry concerns one neighbor's pitched battle with the patio lounge: "About 2 a.m.a drunk woman came out to the patio and wondered at its beauty. I pulled out the megaphone and said in a store announcer kind of voice 'Attention Cooper Square Hotel douchebags: shut the hell up and get off the patio.' Didn't work. She said 'That makes my new york experience complete' and continued to yammer away. The hotel made a half-hearted effort to get her out of there." With warm weather finally here, we give it a week before neighbors go full Delicatessen on the noisemakers and unleash the bodily fluids.

An Upper East Side man's irksome pets have the neighbors above his backyard asking a question most people hoped to never cross their minds again: "Who let the dogs out?" Today's Post looks into a clash between irritated neighbors and the owner of four dogs (a Jack Russell and three Pomeranians) who claims to be the most penalized pet owner under the city's relatively new noise laws. Rob Ryder has been fined three times over the last thirteen months when nearby residents called 311 for the barking dogs they claim Ryder lets out at 7 a.m., if not earlier. A neighbor above his East 72nd Street brownstone says, "In the spring and the summer, there are people who stick their heads out the window screaming at them, 'Shut your dogs up!' You're never free of these yapping dogs." Since loud pets became a punishable violation in the summer of 2007, 13,557 dog-noise complaints have been lodged through 311. Ryder fired back at those aggravated, "Give me a break! Everybody in this city owns dogs. This is Manhattan. Move to Minnesota if you want quietness."

Sure, Michelle Tanner was adorable, but now all grown up and split into the real-life duo of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, residents of one West Village block are calling the twins "intruders." The NY Post reports that West 13th St has all but turned into a military zone, with Olsen security guards posted outside their door at all hours and two GMC Denali trucks sitting in front of their $12K/month brownstone rental. One neighbor says, "They are disruptive, intrusive and totally disrespectful," and that the "two spoiled brats" are in-and-out day and night, sometimes even making residents of the same brownstone vacate the stoop so they can enter the building in privacy! Other A-list residents in the neighborhood include Liv Tyler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Gisele Bundchen...all of whom are a-okay with the non-famous locals.

The Apple store in SoHO has become a magnet for lines, whether it's for the new iPhone or a big act performing in their intimate space. Seems the SoHo Alliance isn't happy with the company congesting its sidewalks, and the NY Sun reports that "the last straw came when thousands of teenage girls poured onto the streets en route to an in-store Jonas Brothers concert." Amongst the list of complaints were screaming teens, blocked traffic, and allegedly one resident was injured in a "crush." On any normal day their complaint list includes: "Apple employees lounging, eating, smoking, littering — in effect, trespassing — on nearby people's stoops." The Alliance has written a letter to elected officials airing their complaints, and they believe the store's performances are violating zoning laws. In the end, they want the "irresponsible" corporation to, you know, simply end sidewalk congestion. Time for the Apple geniuses to start an urban planning committee?

Last night the Community Board panel voted against recommending a cabaret license for Studio B, something the club has lacked for years – not that that's stopped anyone inside from getting down. At the core of the club's problem are the neighbors, who are now getting as loud as Studio B's late night parties, while running wild with Footloose laws clenched in their fists. Amongst their complaints are the new roof deck, the trash, the noise and of course the dancing – the horrible, illicit, sinful dancing. This one time one of them saw a girl flash her breasts inside of the club on the dancefloor!

Studio B has been met with some serious opposition in their Greenpoint neighborhood, and this week they'll be meeting with Community Board 1 to discuss their cabaret license, or lack thereof (they've been operating without one for two years).

At last night's full Community Board Six Meeting in Borough Hall, passionate outcries were heard once again arguing over the motion to recommend against the renewal of Union Hall's liquor license. However, this time the loud voices were not coming from angry neighbors, but rather Board members themselves, speaking one after the next in favor of the Union Hall's continued presence in Park Slope. The CB6 not only rejected the motion put forth last week by Board member (and Brazen Head bar owner) Lou Sones, but overwhelmingly passed a new motion to take an official stance supporting Union Hall's liquor license renewal when it comes up before the SLA on May 31st.

Today, in the wake of the CB6 meeting that took place last night, Eugene Mirman tells us what he really thinks of his nagging neighbors; sentiments that are surely being echoed from his speech last night. Put in some earplugs and read carefully Crow & Co.

I feel bad that some people are genuinely bothered by the noise outside the bar — and Union Hall has done a lot to remedy the situation. I don’t live on Union Street, but I live around the corner, about as close as John “I Called 911 Because I Thought Their Assembly Permit Was Expired” Crow.

Continue reading "Eugene Mirman Stands Up Against His Neighbors"

As if Brooklyn music venues aren't suffering enough right now, residents are currently rising up against what they call a "nuisance bar" in Park Slope. That bar is Union Hall. Jon Crow, one of those spearheading the campaign to shut the venue down, emailed us about an upcoming public hearing regarding the renewal of Union Hall's liquor license, admitting, "those of us fighting this nuisance bar are fully aware this hearing won't close it down."

On the evening of April 3rd it was announced that Sound Fix, the record shop/cafe fixture on the corner of Bedford Avenue and N 11th Street in Williamsburg, was shut down. Since first mention the Dept. of Health has been blamed with locking the doors, but noise complaints are generally at the root of every establishment's demise.

The Staten Island Advance has been following the turmoil brewing between a Wiccan family and their neighbors.

We knew Sean Connery was a tough guy (or so his screen persona and Darrell Hammond's impression would have us believe), so we might have imagined the lawsuits between him and his East 71st Street neighbor would pile up. But who knew that it would get to the point of a judge complaining that the two parties were being too fighty?

It appears that Judith Nathan, the current Mrs. Giuliani, may have been enjoying taxpayer-funded car service provided by the police while her affair with former Mayor Giuliani was unknown. Giuliani's admitted that he gave his girlfriend a security detail once their relationship became public because of possible threats against her, but it appears that Nathan was enjoying New York's Finest as a taxi service months before anyone even knew the two were involved with each...

Brooklyn resident Christina Copeman became a recluse after the death of her husband 17 years ago, more so as she began to succumb to Alzheimer's disease. She wouldn't answer greetings from neighbors and eventually refused to come to the door when people knocked. The full consequences of her isolation weren't realized until this week, when police broke down the door to her apartment and found her skeletal remains dressed, and wearing a coat and hat...