Text size:

Reinventing nightlife on the Upper West Side

By David Freedlander | Special to amNewYork

November 10, 2006

After Marc Glazer spent $10,000 renovating Columbus 72, his new dancehall opening in the old Star Club, there was one last thing he needed to do: Post a sign by the door that says "Quiet Please. Our Neighbors Are Trying to Sleep."

He just hopes his patrons pay attention to it.

Columbus 72 is the latest incarnation of the club at the intersection that bears its name. It has 7,000 square feet of space, room for 700 people, the only cabaret license on the Upper West Side and, of course, the associated noise complaints that go with playing pumping music to sweaty throngs in the wee hours of the morning in a mostly residential neighborhood.

"I feel the pain of my neighbors very much and I will be a good tenant," says Glazer, who grew up and still lives in the area. "The community is positive and enthusiastic about what we are trying to do here."

Previous nightclubs operating at the site brought fights on the street, SUVs playing loud music as the club emptied out at 4 a.m. and crowded sidewalks of eager clubgoers waiting to get in and party, according to area residents.

"Clubs just bring problems and trouble," said Daisy DeAsis, who lives across the street from Columbus 72. "Too many drunk people coming out at 4 a.m. We don¹t need it."

The club debuted with an opening night costume party for a small grateful group of clubgoers on the Saturday before Halloween.

"I'm from the Studio 54 era, and I think having a club here is a great idea," said Anita Gee. "You want to move around and have fun. People need that kind of excitement."

Carrie Schantz, sipping a glass of red wine as the place rocked to "Superfreak," agreed.

"I usually go out in the West Village because there's nothing around here except a bunch of wine bars," she said. "When people around here hear about it, this place will fill up."

Glazer will just keep the club open on weekends to start out, spinning a mix of '80s house music, R & B and hip-hop, while renting out the space for private parties during the week.

"This is going to be a neighborhood kind of place with no pretensions," he said. "There are a million young singles on the Upper West Side and there is no place for them to dance beyond 27th Street."

Whether they choose to club locally remains to be seen. Glazer and co-owner John Juiliano will appear before Community Board 7 this Wednesday to discuss whether they fulfilled their promises on being good neighbors.

The board doesn't have the power to revoke the license, but for a club determined to be good neighbors, a recommendation to shut down would be, at the very least, embarrassing.