Vice President Joe Biden was in Greenwich Village on Wednesday to attend a Democratic National Committee event at Perilla restaurant, at 9 Jones St.
The lunch was closed to the press.
The one-block-long Jones St. between W. Fourth and Bleecker Sts. was locked down tightly by a heavy police presence for the V.P.’s visit.
Veteran Community Board 2 member Doris Diether reported to The Villager that she had gotten phone calls by some woman telling her something big was happening on Jones St. and that police had been seen going into 9 Jones St.
“They said there were a lot of police there and bomb-sniffing dogs,” Diether said.
Martin Baranski, Sixth Precinct community affairs officer, explained that there was nothing amiss and that the heavy security was for Biden.
“It’s like when Obama comes to town,” he said.
Perilla was opened in 2007 by Harold Dieterle — the winner of the first season of “Top Chef” in 2006 — and his partner Alicia Nosenzo. Intimate, with 18 tables and 10 seats at the bar, it features seasonal American cuisine with Asian influences.
Lincoln Anderson
