NO!

July 31, 2008 by missheather
Filed under: Greenpoint Magic

Mieszko Kalita, the Chairman for the Public Safety Committee, ended up casting the deciding vote at this evening’s Public Safety Committee review of Studio B’s cabaret license application. Here’s how it broke down:

One in favor of recommending it with provisions.

One against.

One abstention (he arrived late)

And, well, the above photograph (of Studio B’s party, including the “owners” and Ken Fisher taken after the meeting) should give you some indication how Mr. Kalita voted.*

More details to come, so stay tuned!

Miss Heather

*A resounding and quite angry NO.

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Comments

2 Comments on NO!

ShatteredMonocle on Thu, 31st Jul 2008 11:13 pm

I’m absolutely thrilled with my decision to attend this event in favor of that geriatric hip-hop jamboree happening simultaneously at some other place in Greenpoint.

For me, the highlights were:

1 – The kindly Miss Heather’s impassioned speech along with the stirring anecdotes and plenitude of eye-popping visual aids she was thoughtful enough to provide.

2 – Ken “I’m not sure about the specific legalities” Fisher and his contribution of slapstick* which included, but was not limited to:
a) Becoming visibly perturbed — rolls eyes; scoffs aloud — when a baby in the hallway began to stir slightly.
b) Leaning on the light switch causing the room to go black as the police captain discussed the importance of open community dialogue.
c) Putting his foot in his mouth by cutting short the statement of a Cooper Union architectural consultant, bringing upon himself the fiery wrath of the honorable Mieszko Kalita.

THIS is why he “gets paid the big bucks”.

3 – Seeing the Studio B entourage, who looked like they just rolled out of bed and threw on some PJ’s in time for the meeting, swiftly slink out of the room like a bunch of disgraced character clowns piling into some absurd little car.

…and the icing on the babka:

4 – The climactic tie-breaker provided by Mr. Mieszko Kalita. Witnessing this was a positively narcotic experience. I didn’t even have a chance to notice the disappointed looks on the faces of the Studio B gang because my attention was trained on Mr. Kalita as he used words like “disgusting” to characterize the club’s recent legal oopsies. If I had to judge him solely on his handling of this meeting, I would say the man is a giant among microbes.

I won’t spoil the rest, but there’s a lot more to talk about.

* Does anyone know where Mr. Fisher will be performing next? His material is pure gold!

Hemmroidlloyd on Fri, 1st Aug 2008 11:23 am

What a great post. And another thing…
Attaboys to those that were dedicated enough to the preservation of the neighborhood that they stood up to the well placed politically bulldozing BS last night. Inspirational comes to mind..and some well placed collective empathy for the poor folks that have to endure a poorly conceived party warehouse where they live.
My 2 cents.. the club’s reluctance (unwillingness) to maintain any litter baskets in the vicinity is so obvious. And as it was mentioned so easy to arrange, no way they asked the appropriate agencies. The Sanitation Dept. has an Adopt-a-basket program where they not only place litter baskets out upon the agreement of a willing sponsor, they also give the participant inserts (bags) to use. The full bags are removed by the sponsor, and picked up by the DS..they are more than willing and are always looking for businesses to get involved in it..I’m retired from DS, and was always looking for people to take on the responsibility, store owners etc..for the staff of the club yup it would be a hassle given the large volume of pedestrian traffic they generate, but one would think it a no brainer, a small price to pay, off the top from what I would assume is a hugely profitable club. I mean, hire somebody to do it!
And taking that a step further, one would think it strange that the club’s owners weren’t bending over backwards from the get-go, why they had to show some interest only after being taken to task by the community- why they were initially so arrogant.
But the deed is done, and first impressions are what they are. One could easily assume if they were granted the license that apathetic attitude would continue.
Greenpoint has really been getting ripped off for years, going back to when I was a kid. Not sure if it’s gentrification or just the natives getting hip to the fact you can make a difference- but this was really refreshing.
Can’t they find a location in another area, say down the east end of Maspeth Avenue, where nobody’s trying to sleep at night? Location, as they say, is everything.

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