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| 280 Bond St. Google Maps |
The Rock and Roll Playhouse website says the preschool/bar, the brainstorm of Peter Shapiro, owner of Brooklyn Bowl, will be located at 280 Bond Street in Gowanus:
"Following the daytime activities and traditional family dinner hours, we also hope to use the play space as a seated venue where adults can enjoy jazz and educational programming. We will work closely with the community on the timing and nature on the evening jazz programming . . . We are also pleased to be partnering with our friends at the acclaimed Blue Ribbon Restaurants to operate the food and beverage at the RRPH."
According to the Observer, some of the neighbors believe that the kid-friendly aspect is simply to disguise the creation of another night club.
Shapiro told the NY Daily News, however, "There is word out that this will be a nightclub. That’s not true.”
UPDATE: See the very detailed comment below.
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When local residents contacted the Rock & Roll Playhouse to try and understand their plans, the company’s executive director, Amy Striem, represented that this was to be a children’s venue with a restaurant at night. Public filings and later conversations with RRPH representatives (including Streim and owner Peter Shapiro) reveal that their plans are far different from those represented.
The heart of the planned RRPH is to turn 280 Bond Street, the main building of which directly abuts six residential homes, into a noisy, late-night music destination, complete with a contingent of veteran security officers from Shapiro’s Brooklyn Bowl to deal with the expected crowds. According to RRPH representatives and planning documents, the club will feature musical concerts seven days a week, offering both indoor and outdoor seating in an area that can feasibly hold more than 600 seated or 1500 standing patrons at a time. They plan on serving alcohol from a full bar until 1:30 a.m. on weeknights and 2 a.m. on weekends. Far from a family-friendly restaurant destination, no one under 21-years-old will be admitted after 8 p.m. on any night.
The truth is that Shapiro does not operate neighborhood restaurants or venues designed for children; Shapiro operates clubs — big clubs. He’s shown little interest in building bridges to his new neighbors in Gowanus. RRPH has dismissed the neighborhood’s valid concerns that his club will bring a pronounced increase in street congestion, parking gridlock, litter, vandalism, and late-night noise from both musical acts and the patrons who mill around inside and outside the club during shows.
In response to RRPH’s plans for 280 Bond and due to a general concern about the lack of planning being considered for commercial development along the Gowanus canal, area residents have banded together to form We Are Gowanus (WAG). This is not a NIMBY fight. We are pro-development of the Bond Street corridor. Many of our members own businesses in the neighborhood and elsewhere. But we will fight to keep development of Bond Street consistent with the intent of city zoning regulations and in keeping with the historic residential neighborhood that runs its length. The Rock & Roll Playhouse is not one of those developments; instead it will provide an un-needed service in a badly planned location, one that is inconsistent with the neighborhood and detrimental to all in the tight-knit community of Gowanus.
WAG is currently reaching out to nearby residents so that we may accomplish the following goals:
➢ Gather signatures on our petition, link attached.
➢ Gather letters to community board members expressing concerns over land use and liquor license applications, which are assumed to be forthcoming. Template for use as a cut and paste will follow this fact sheet.
Further information can be found on our website: www.wearegowanus.org
WAG representatives are also available via email at wearegowanus@gmail.com
While I love a fun new place for our neighborhood, I was horrified when an acquaintance showed me how far back the building extends into a residential block. When I walked by the space, Bond St just seemed like an empty industrial block but when you see it from the back, it's huge and goes back more than four houses deep. Has Peter Shapiro ever seen the project from the back?
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