HKNA Blog

Newsletter #7 – February, 20012

Hello from your Hell’s Kitchen Neighborhood Association=2E This is our firs=
t newsletter of the new year=2E Much is happening in our ‘hood, including l=
ots of new housing for the super-wealthy and recalcitrant issues like buses=
idling their motors on our streets, polluting the air we breathe=2E As alw=
ays with this administration in City Hall, lack of enforcement is key=
=2E

HKNA has come out publicly, often and loudly, about the over saturation of =
liquor-serving establishments on Ninth Avenue (and trying to save Tenth Ave=
nue from the same fate)=2E Like so much of our lives in Manhattan, landlord=
s/developers rule=2E City Council member Gale Brewer has begun a dialogue/p=
lan to save sections of the Upper West Side from big-box stores and over-sa=
turation of banks and pharmacies=2E How about here?

Three corners at 55th Street and Ninth Ave are what we don’t want – ‘as of =
right’ building, which in NYC means there is no public input=2E Alvin Ailey=
has one corner – the other three are banks=2E The SE corner was empty for =
what seemed like years=2E=2E=2Ea piece of the puzzle=2E We all wonder how a=
nd why landlords keep sidewalk space empty=2E Ninth Avenue was once a thriv=
ing retail street with family-owned shops and fruit and vegetable markets t=
hat are long gone, sacrificed to higher-earning bars=2E The humongous space=
housing Chase could easily have fit an independent toy shop, a health food=
store AND a family shoe store – three on my personal wish list=2E

Two free environment events:

Monday, Feb 27 at 7:00 – The JCC at Amsterdam and 76th Street=2E RSVP to ca=
rbonsqueeze@gmail=2Ecom with your name and zip code=2E Paul Reale from the =
Climate Reality Project will speak about how climate changes affect our pla=
net and how we can help stem the damage=2E

Free E-Recycling sponsored by City Council member Gale Brewer: Saturday, Ap=
ril 21st – noon to 5:00 pm at PS 87 Tecumseh Playgrounds at West 77th Stree=
t (Columbus/Amsterdam) – Accepting working & non-working computers plus mon=
itors/printers/keyboards/cables/etc plus TVs, audio, VCRs DVD players, scan=
ners, video games, cell phones=2E No A/C or kitchen appliances, no wall pho=
nes=2E

Soon you may notice green tips shooting up in the tree beds along Ninth Ave=
nue=2E
Folks from the Midtown Community Court helped us plant hundreds of bulbs la=
st fall=2E Keep your collective fingers crossed=2E Survival in a NYC tree b=
ed isn’t easy=2E

The 34A bus no longer stops at Madison or Lexington Avenues=2E=2E=2Eand the=
y claim the new pay-in-advance makes the ride faster! Yes, we will be ranti=
ng and raving to the MTA about this and the miserable one crosstown bus ser=
ving all the residences on 42nd Street=2E=2E=2E

Check out www=2EDNANY – a useful tool for neighborhood news=2E

There is a Head Start for pre-schoolers under the umbrella of the revered B=
ank Street College – at the Metro Baptist Church on 40th street=2E (212) 35=
3-2532/Ext=2E 232=2E

No doubt you’ve heard about Governor Cuomo’s plan to relocate the Javits Ce=
nter to Aqueduct Raceway – depending on whether or not the state legislatur=
e will permit a casino there=2E If yes, that would ‘free up’ 18 acres of st=
ate land=2E Some affordable housing
for those of us who are not Wall Street traders? A soccer field? A public s=
wimming pool? A garage to store those idling buses? Why not?

Remember that you have a voice in the life of Hell’s Kitchen=2E Attend a mo=
nthly Community Board 4 meeting – web site is: www=2Enyc=2Egov/mcb4=2E Sign=
up for their monthly e-newsletter=2E (212) 736-4536=2E

That’s all for now=2E We’ll hold a meeting soon=2E Watch this space=2E

Kathleen Treat, Chair

Hell’s Kitchen Neighborhood Association – 454 West 35th Street, NYC 10001
212-501-2704 - www=2Ehknanyc=2Eorg

Hell’s Kitchen Neighborhood Association (HKNA)=20
454 West 35th Street
New York, NY 10001

Telephone: 212-501-2704 or 212-714-0186
Email – information@HKNAnyc=2Eorg
Webite – hknanyc=2Eorg

Please Note:

HKNA has come out against this venue….anywhere else but a playground….please speak out at:

Community Board 4′s meeting, Wednesday, October 7, 6:30 at the Fulton Center, west side of 9th Avenue at 17th Street.

Manhattan Residents Clash With Bar Owners Over Proposed Location Near Two Schools

By: Lindsey Christ

Link to video

The owners of Boxers, a gay bar in Chelsea, have proposed a new location in Hell’s Kitchen, but area residents spoke out against it Thursday, calling it too close for comfort given the spot’s proximity to two neighborhood schools. NY1′s Lindsey Christ filed the following report.

It’s a tough sell: A gay sports bar wants to open in a privately-owned building located in the corner of PS 111′s schoolyard and across the street from a Catholic school.

“I would venture to say that we’re the only neighborhood in the country that has a bar on an elementary schoolyard and man, I don’t want to be known for that. Where’s our dignity in this neighborhood?” said one resident.

However, the owners of Boxers in Chelsea told the local block association Thursday that they’ll improve this corner in Hell’s Kitchen by opening their second location here.

“We’re open when the school’s closed, and the school’s closed when we’re open,” said co-owner Rob Hynds.

They say their older clientele comes for the sports and goes home early, which is better than potential alternatives.

“Should it be a night club? As a gay parent of two, I would never want a nightclub there. Could it be a tavern that sells food? Yes, in my opinion I think that’s fair. Other than that, there may be nothing but having a derelict building for three, four years. Is that good for the neighborhood?” said co-owner Bob Fluet.

Still, area residents aren’t thrilled by the idea.

“It just doesn’t feel right to have a bar in a schoolyard,” said one resident.

Most opponents claim they don’t have a problem with it being a gay bar, just that it’s illegal to sell liquor within 200 feet of a school entrance: the Catholic School is within that zone.

As a solution, the bar plans to serve food in the front section of the building and keep booze 200 feet away.

The principal of PS 111 isn’t buying it. She sent an e-mail to community members last week, expressing concern about foot-traffic and students distracted by the rooftop bar.
She claims the bar’s patrons will be wearing only their boxers.

The owners of Boxers Sports Bar say she was referring to an old promotion at their Chelsea location that they won’t repeat.

Tonight’s meeting was a chance for the bar owners to make their case to the local block association, but it’s the community board that has the power to recommend whether they get a liquor license or not.

That vote happens next week, and both police and the community board that oversees Boxers’ Chelsea location recommend they be approved.

Hell’s Kitchen Neighborhood Association (HKNA)

454 West 35th Street
New York, NY 10001

Telephone: 212-501-2704 or 212-714-0186

Email – information@HKNAnyc.org

Webite – hknanyc.org