Beloved West Village watering hole Chumley's has been closed for over seven years, following a chimney collapse that put the future of the historic speakeasy in question. In that time, Chumley's has weathered a scaffolding hellscape, a barrage of NIMBY lawsuits, and the usual bureaucratic nightmare of attempting to do anything in New York City.
In short, Chumley's fans could certainly use some good news, and it seems they're finally getting some, with Justice Barbara Jaffee ruling against the NIMBY group who tried to have the bar shuttered for good.
The 47-member "Bar Free Bedford" group filed the suit last winter and even tried to compare the 86-year-old bar that served as a favored haunt of Willa Cather, E.E. Cummings, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Theodore Dreiser, Norman Mailer, William Faulkner, Eugene O'Neill, John Steinbeck, and others to "a brothel." On Friday, Justice Jaffee tossed out the suit, arguing that living in a city can sometimes be loud and unruly, so deal with it, babies.
"In the modern world, some degree of noise, tension and discomfort is the inevitable concomitant of urban life," she wrote.
Now, it's only a matter of time until Chumley's makes its triumphant return. Perhaps sensing that they had this one in the bag, the owners have already restored the bar's iconic front door.
· "Judge sides against residents who opposed noisy pub" [NYP]
· All Chumley's coverage [Curbed]
· All Chumley's coverage [Eater]
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