Hot spot ‘wrecked block’: Neighbors
BY GABE HERMAN
Even amid all the bustling nightlife
in Soho, one restaurant in
particular is causing a lot of local
headaches.
Several neighbors say that for the
past couple of years, Piccola Cucina, an
Italian restaurant at 75 Thompson St.,
between Spring and Broome Sts., has
hosted loud parties, often late into the
night that spill out onto the sidewalks.
Locals say the big parties can include
singing, clapping, cheering and even
banging pots and pans.
This is despite the June 2016 resolution
by Community Board 2 for the
place’s liquor license, which stipulated
that music must be kept inside, at a
background level, and that there would
be no promoted events or use as a
nightclub, lounge or tavern.
One neighbor, who wished to remain
anonymous, said the restaurant is listed
on a party Web site, and one night she
saw a big white bus from New Jersey
pull up and let a group into the restaurant.
It was labeled “party bus” and sat
outside the restaurant with the engine
idling for hours.
“It’s like a club scene,” said Natalie
Swan, another neighbor. “The party
scene is their trademark. It’s what
brings people in, what they’re known
for.”
Piccola Cucina installed big glass
doors facing the sidewalk, which the
C.B. 2 resolution stipulated must be
closed by 10 p.m. every night. But
neighbors say the doors often stay open
later and let music blast out to the street
and nearby apartments.
A group outside Piccola Cucina on a recent Friday around 11 p.m.
“It’s a loud, boisterous establishment,”
said Christine Calabrese, who
also lives nearby. She said there could
sometimes be multiple birthday parties
— as many as three or four — there in
one evening.
Calabrese and others described large
groups that end up outside on the sidewalk,
blocking pedestrians and forcing
them to walk in the street, and smoking
and leaving cigarette butts everywhere.
The parties can sometimes go until
2 a.m., according to another neighbor,
TEQUILA MINSKY
who asked to remain anonymous. The
C.B. 2 resolution called for the restaurant
to close by midnight every night of
the week.
Residents say the business leaves garbage
cans out front, causing the area to
stink, and the sidewalks are often fi lthy
after a night of partying at the place.
Locals told similar stories of talking
with the owner and getting a dismissive
attitude about their complaints.
The C.B. 2 district manager did not
respond to questions about whether
the community board is aware of complaints
about Piccola Cucina.
When the restaurant was contacted
by this paper about the neighbors’ complaints,
a manager responded with a
message from “Piccola Cucina Group”
that said when music is played there
during weekend parties, it’s always
with the doors closed.
“We always keep cleaned and peaceful
our space,” the response said.
The message added that people
smoking outside or being drunk, plus
all of the garbage on the street, is not
coming from Piccola Cucina.
“There are a lot of problems in the
neighborhood,” the restaurant group
said.
Several neighbors said that repeated
calls to 311 were useless and that it
typically would take hours before police
responded to the scene to address
the conditions.
Another neighbor, Tequila Minsky,
who is a contributor to this paper, has
been in touch with a Neighborhood
Coordination Offi cer (N.C.O.) at the
First Precinct regarding the restaurant.
Around July 10, the offi cer said that he
spoke with the place’s manager about
closing the doors and windows and
ensuring that the sidewalk was passable.
The manager reportedly said she
also would speak to the night managers
about these issues.
The N.C.O. told Minsky that police
would continue to monitor the situation
and that an open dialogue with the
restaurant would continue. And he said
if there is still no progress, he would
see what enforcement action could be
taken.
Adios, Ricky! Puerto Rico’s governor resigns
BY ALEJANDRA O’CONNELLDOMENECH
Governor Ricardo Roselló announced
his resignation late
Wednesday night in a video
posted on Facebook.
His resignation comes after mass
public outcry on the island and impending
impeachment proceedings.
Three attorneys commissioned by
Carlos Mendez Nunez, the president
of Puerto Rico’s House of Representatives,
found fi ve different offenses
meriting impeachment. According to
The Daily Beast, the offenses include
illicitly using public resources and services
for partisan purposes and allowing
contractors and offi cials to misuse
public funds.
In the live-streamed message, Roselló
said that his resignation would
take effect Fri., Aug. 2.
The governor’s resignation comes after
two weeks of mass protests on the
island that saw an unprecedented number
of people take to the streets. Islanders
rode on motorcycles, horseback, jet
skis and even took over a cruise ship
in order to call on the embattled governor
to step down. His announcement
late on the evening of July 24 makes
him the fi rst governor to resign in the
island’s history.
Protests were sparked after Puerto
Rico’s Center for Investigative Journalism
leaked 889 pages of text messages
between Governor Roselló, cabinet
members and 11 advisers that included
homophobic and misogynistic remarks.
The texts came shortly after two members
of Roselló’s administration were
arrested by the F.B.I. in connection
with a corruption scandal.
Solidarity protests have also taken
place around the globe. The most recent
rally in New York City, on Mon.,
July 22, saw hundreds of members of
the Puerto Rican diaspora and allies
gather at Columbus Circle in the rain.
They waved Puerto Rican fl ags, chanted,
danced, banged on pots and pans,
played panderos and guiros (tambourines
and gourds) and danced, calling
on the beleaguered governor to abdicate
and to support those back on the
island. Two other solidarity protests
were held at Union Square the week
before, with each protest larger than
the last.
“The blanket of fear has been removed
and people are coming together,”
said Power Malu, from NY Boricua
Resistance, one of the groups that organized
solidarity protests in the city.
“This is not something new. This is
a decades-long situation,” said Malu, a
Lower East Sider, referring to political
corruption and hardships the island has
endured because of its colonial status.
Monday’s protest, lasting more than
three hours, ended in dancing and
chanting at Grand Central Station after
protesters marched in the pouring rain
waving fl ags, chanting, and in one case,
thrusting wooden machetes in the air.
Their cries of “Ricky renuncia y llevate
la junta” (“Ricky resign and take the
board with you,” “the board” referring
to the Financial Oversight and Management
Board) and “Yo soy Boricua
pa’que tu lo sepas” (“I’m a Boricua so
that you know”) could not be silenced.
The procession of protesters won supportive
cheers from onlookers as they
battled the rain.
Governor Roselló said that his successor
would be Justice Secretary Wanda
Vázquez, whom Puerto Ricans are
calling on to resign, as well, due to corruption
allegations. Vázquez is next in
line because of the secretary of state’s
resignation last week. Protests on the
island continue.
“I hope that the people of Puerto
Rico truly get their voice and get the
opportunity to choose whoever they
want to represent them,” Malu said.
“This is an opportunity for Puerto Rico
to imagine their future.”
Schneps Media CNW August 1, 2019 3