The Schragerizing (Balazsification just didn't have the same ring to it) of the East Village and Lower East Side has not been a quiet process, and now the noise complaints against the neighborhoods' two new fancy boutique hotels?the Bowery's Cooper Square Hotel and the Thompson LES on Allen Street?are getting much louder. The snugness of the Coop's outdoor lounges with the windows of some East 5th Street tenements has been a hot topic of late, and now the dispute (megaphones! blasting naughty recordings!) has wound up in the pages of the Post. In the story, we learn that the underwear incident was indeed an anti-hotel statement, and the brown stains were, uh, "not authentic." Whew! The second-floor patio closes at 9 p.m., but according to one resident, the noise from patrons has been "life-wrecking." Says one bar patron: "I thought it was startling to see someone brush their teeth while we're having drinks." The Bowery, everybody! That community meeting next Tuesday should be a fun one. And speaking of neighborhood outreach, the Thompson LES did just that last night, holding their own meeting with neighbors concerned about noise. Hey, how did that go?
LES blog The Lo-Down was at the meeting?attended by three Thompson LES managers, an NYPD lieutenant and members of Community Board 3?and writes that the Thompson folks got an "earful." Most complaints were about music and chatter coming from the Thompson's third-floor outdoor pool area and second-floor tented space (above), which no one is quite sure if the Thompson even has permits for. Neighbors were also fuming about idling SUVs and smashed party-people clogging up Orchard Street. So where is this heading? The Lo-Down reports:
[Thompson LES GM Elizabeth] Mao conceded there had been problems with the bar staff. She said they had been fired and a new team brought in. The hotel will conduct sound testing in selected apartments to evaluate the noise and consider adding insulation. One of the hotel's representatives said "we're learning at your expense and we apologize for that." A resident then asked him whether the hotel would be a good neighbor. His response: "we will make the attempt."Encouraging words!
· Residents Confront "Thompson LES" Managers About Noise, Unruly Crowds [The Lo-Down]
· Natives Are 'Hostel' [NYPost]
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