43 Franklin St. & Studio B rant
I believe the ground floor of this 4-family house at 43 Franklin St. was being used as landlord-look-the-other-way live-in commercial for a while, and then the FOR RENT sign went up. Everyone had the property for a while, that apts. & lofts sign would go down, and then go up again, and I pretty much gave up on anything useful for the neighborhood going into that space.
A few months ago, I parked my car on that block and noticed DOB permits and activity, and the DOB permits noting something about restoring an existing restaurant or cafe. I was hoping for a coffee house, the boyfriend fervently wanting a closer bodega (as much as we love the God Bless Deli Grocery, it's still not around the corner).
Yesterday, I parked the car in front and this time, there were people inside working that looked like they might know what the place is. Excitedly, I stopped in front of the door and asked, "What's this place going to be?"
"A bar!" the gentleman answered, equally excitedly.
My face fell.
"Come here, come here. Where do you live?"
I pointed, and said, "I just hope you guys are going to be better neighbors than Studio B is."
Yeah, I'm bummed. We don't need another bar on this block; the faux-Irish pub next to the laundromat is about to open any day now (there's a name painted on it now). And with a bar that close to Studio B, the hipsters will all flock to drink there before going to shows at Studio B, meaning their inane chatter about where to go next and where is the subway and whatever other bullshit they feel the need to discuss on my corner at 4am is going to be carried even further throughout the neighborhood.
There was a reason I left the Lower East Side, but even there, the bars all have PLEASE RESPECT OUR NEIGHBORS AND KEEP YOUR VOICES DOWN signs outside. The only thing Studio B has started doing (in its defense) is sweeping up the sidewalk, so it's not completely disgusting every morning after the club is open - but we still won't chance parking on that block any more because of all the broken bottles left on the curb and in the gutter.
I like living in a city and I like living in a neighborhood. We would have no problem with Studio B if the patrons STFU on their way to and from the subway and stopped throwing their trash up and down the block. And same goes for the new, soon-to-open bar at 43 Franklin.