By Elizabeth O’Brien
Its name is Nocturne, and some neighbors of the hot new club at 144 Bleecker St. say the club’s pumping bass is forcing them to become nocturnal.
Since the club opened in October, nearby residents have complained about loud patrons entering and exiting the club, streets clogged with taxis honking their horns and dish-rattling vibrations for those residents who live above the club or in apartments in the abutting building at 184 Thompson St.
A New York University professor who lives nearby said the street noise is not limited to Friday and Saturday night. He said that Sunday night rowdiness particularly bothers him, since it’s normally a quiet night in the neighborhood. Activity often continues until 5 a.m., he added.
“My sleeping is completely off,” said the resident, who requested anonymity.
Last month, community members met to discuss their concerns about the club with officers from the Sixth Precinct and Frank Ferraro, a Nocturne co-owner. Detective Mike Singer said that most of the complaints voiced at the meeting related to vibrations from the club’s pounding bass.
In response, Ferraro agreed to take action. He said on Tuesday that the club had removed the sub-woofers, or the speakers that pump the deep bass, from their position beneath the floor and put them on rubber mats. The rubber mats will be replaced with sandboxes next week for a more muffling effect, Ferraro added.
“If I know about it, I’ll deal with it,” Ferraro said.
Ferraro said he was surprised to learn that some residents had a problem with Sunday night noise, since that is the club’s slowest night of the week. He said that the club employs four security personnel outside the club on slow nights and six on Friday and Saturday. Detective Singer said that the precinct had extra officers working on Bleecker St. on Friday and Saturday nights to handle street noise and congestion.
Charles Wolf, co-chairperson of the Bleecker Area Merchants’ and Residents’ Association who lives at 184 Thompson St., said he appreciated Ferraro’s responsiveness. But he said he’d reserve judgment until he saw proof that the club’s solutions worked. He said that he could not feel the club’s vibrations from his apartment, but that he had heard club music in the hallways.
Singer praised Wolf for his work mediating the dispute.
Singer said on Tuesday that the precinct was still receiving complaints about the club. He said that Nocturne’s legal capacity, about 335 people, is very large by Village standards. The club that previously occupied 144 Bleecker, the Elbow Room, was smaller, Singer said, and did not did not attract as much activity.
Promotional materials for Nocturne advertise “the culmination of nightlife culture” in a theatrical, 7,000-sq.-ft. space that features live music, world-class deejays and full food and drink services.
The club does not have a cabaret license, so city regulations prohibit patrons from dancing. Ferraro said the club had received some citations for dancing.
Community Board 2 has fielded many complaints about Nocturne, said District Manager Art Strickler, and the board wrote a letter to the city’s Department of Consumer Affairs, which regulates cabaret licenses. The agency responded that it had sent inspectors to the club, but that they had found nothing illegal, said Julio Mora, Board 2’s community assistant in charge of complaints.
“We’ve done all we can do and we’ve been told to go fly a kite,” Strickler said.
A spokesperson for the Dept. of Consumer Affairs did not return a call by press time.
A spokesperson for the Dept. of Buildings said that Nocturne had done all it needed to do from a public-safety perspective. On Nov. 7, Nocturne got its place-of-assembly plans approved, said Ilyse Fink, the D.O.B. spokesperson. These plans, which outline safety provisions such as exits, are required for any meeting space that can hold 75 or more people, Fink said.
Wolf and other community members said they hoped that Nocturne would continue to address their concerns.
“We want good businesses, but at the same time we expect them to be good neighbors,” Wolf said.
