The latest incarnation of SoHo House, whose impending arrival we've been tracking for almost a year, filed its application for a liquor license and wouldn't you know it, some local residents aren't too thrilled about it. The Times has a dispatch from Ludlow Street, where a community group called L.E.S. Dwellers—in addition to other locals—wants to bar the proposed club from serving alcohol in the already nightlife-dense enclave.
"Here, you could lean out the window and they could hand you a drink," said local resident Scott Cooke. "It's bar after bar after bar." So-called "Hell Square," which spans nine block from Houston to Delancey, Allen to Essex, has area residents on edge from noise, pollution and traffic congestion. Ludlow House, as the new enterprise has been dubbed, would add bars on the first and second floors in addition to a rooftop terrace on the fourth floor that would serve pizza and salad. "It's three feet from people's windows," bemoans Diem Boyd, founder of L.E.S Dwellers.
The New York State Liquor Authority should decide on the license at some time today and using history to guide us, chances are they won't heed the advice of Community Board 3, which voted in opposition of the liquor license in May. We reached out to SoHo House representatives for their input on how the impending club would affect the neighborhood and we'll update if we hear back.
As a person whose bedroom overlooks an incredibly noisy stretch of 2nd Avenue, I can relate to the murderous rage felt when the drunks across the street won't shut up and you have a 7 a.m. wake up call. But as a long-time resident of NYC, I learned long ago there's a simple solution that will keep the baleful cries out of your head: earplugs. Or you could just flee to the country!
