First they came for the roomers, and neighbors did not speak out—because they were not roomers. Then they came for the rent-stabilized tenants, and neighbors did not speak out—because they were not rent-stabilized tenants. But then the proprietors of the swank Jane Hotel (formerly the run-down Hotel Riverview SRO) came for the peace and quiet of the those very neighbors—and there are plenty of people to speak out!
The Far West Village boutique hotel is currently operating one of the city's hottest clubs out of its "Ballroom," leading to quality-of-life complaints from Jane Street residents about smoky sidewalks, taxi cab traffic and loud music into the wee hours. Yesterday we got word that the Jane Street Block Association is mounting an opposition to the hotel's application for a rooftop bar. Little did we know, the fun was just getting started!
A blog called Nightmare on Jane Street has been dutifully documenting the gripes, complete with photos of band equipment on the Ballroom's stage (the Jane's owners—high-society hoteliers Eric Goode and hair-cuttin' Sean MacPherson—promised music would be "background only" on their liquor license application) and video clips of sidewalk gridlock. Video clips? Video clips!
There's also a Twitter feed, featuring observations like, "Wall St 2 filming has begun at Jane Hotel this morning. Perhaps they will be quieter than the hotel's usual crowd," and, "Jane Hotel kids waiting to get in and play with 'mad rich coke heads' use our sidewalk as an ashtray. The smoke is killing our plants."
Yep, it's bordering on a full-on Cooper Square Hotel situation, but what does this all mean? Gawker seems to think that the Jane Hotel is doomed now that the West Village's shock troops are on its case. Is the 'hood really that all-powerful?
