Leaving Luna
Luna Lounge is leaving! The quintessential Lower East Side hangout on Ludlow St. lost its lease and is closing shop at the end of the month to make way for a new luxury apartment building. “We are looking for a new building, but so far we have not found a suitable new location,” Rob Sacher of Luna Lounge said. “The building that we have been in for the last 10 years is scheduled to be demolished to make way for a new luxury high rise.” Don’t iron your party dress and polish your square-framed glasses yet, the Luna Lounge crew has no plans for a blowout bash. Where on indie earth would they put the thousands of well-wishers who’d want to join the party? Sacher said. Instead, the Luna folks are asking Luna lovers “to come in a lot over the next few weeks and support your favorite bands who will be performing their last FREE shows at Luna Lounge.” The next Luna Lounge will be “even better than the old one, although it most certainly will not be on Ludlow St.,” Sacher said. Is that Williamsburg we hear calling?
L.M.D.C. Dissed
Word on the street says that at least a few of the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. heavy weights were miffed that Mayor Mike Bloomberg didn’t invite them to last Friday’s press conference announcing a new school near NYU Downtown Hospital. Chances are John Whitehead, L.M.D.C. chairperson, and Kevin Rampe, the corporation’s president, would not have appreciated being grilled about whether the L.M.D.C. would approve $20 million for the school, but sometimes it’s just nice to be asked.
Get Your Skate On
Giddy from signing a lease on P.J. Clarke’s World Financial Center offspring, owner Philip Scotti fielded the idea of plunking a new ice-skating rink in front of the Winter Garden to his new landlord, Brookfield Properties. “They were laughing at first,” Scotti told Community Board 1’s Battery Park City Committee. “After I told them I had some investors in mind, they stopped laughing.” Following meetings with American Express and Merrill Lynch, restaurateur Scotti — he also owns Docks Oyster Bar and Seafood Grill — has scheduled a meeting with Brookfield for this week. We’re sharpening our blades just thinking about all the double axles we can attempt.
Boarding Soho
UnderCover is relieved to learn that Burton Snowboards is setting up shop in Soho. It’s comforting to know that all of those black diamonds on Mercer St. will no longer go unused. After signing a 10-year deal on a 4,600 sq. ft. spread at 106 Spring St., CB Richard Ellis’ Robert Gibson said, “Simply put, Burton Snowboards wanted to be in a trendy, cool, ‘hot’ area of New York to align with its products and youthful image.” Umm, okay.
Tribeca Gone Wild
Tribeca teens everywhere will be free to frolic uninterrupted through the Downtown darling that is Robert De Niro’s Tribeca Film Festival. The festival is being pushed back a week this year to coincide with New York City public school’s spring break. April 21 to May 5 may be no Palm Springs Girls Gone Wild, but for the more sophisticated vacationer, a bit of the Avant-Garde never hurt anyone. The festival planners are even toying with the idea of a weeklong discount card for kids.
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