Hi Everyone!

A huge and heartfelt Thank You for signing this petition to show support for Blackfoot Hospitality's newest restaurant, The Mary Lane. Full details of the outcome of the recent SLA CB2 committee meeting are below.

What you need to know: the application was met with opposition at the recent CB2 SLA Committee meeting (on Sept 9); the full Community Board 2 meeting is tonight, and this issue is up for discussion by the full Board. We need your help! Please send a note expressing your support to the CB by their deadline of 5pm ET today. The opposition is vocal; we should be as well. 

Please send your email of support to both speakerscard@cb2manhattan.org and info@cb2manhattan.org. A sample letter is below, if you'd like some inspiration. 

Thank You for your support!!! 

Details:

Blackfoot also operates The Little Owl, Market Table, and The Clam, all of which are first-rate much loved restaurants here in the West Village. More information about Blackfoot and The Mary Lane can be found on their websites:

https://blackfoothospitality.com/

http://www.themarylanenyc.com/

At the Community Board State Liquor Authority (SLA) Licensing Committee meeting on Sept 9, the Board denied Blackfoot's request to extend the liquor license to outdoors. However, this denial may be due to the fact that the Community Board may not have jurisdiction over this particular matter. In any case, the process with the Community Board will move forward to tonight's meeting, and we need your help!

The full Community Board will consider this matter TONIGHT, Thursday Sept 23, at 6:30pm ET. If you are able to attend, please do. In order to speak, you must register to do so at the website for Community Board #2.

If you are not able to attend tonight's meeting, please express your support in writing. Feel free to use the below template as a starting point. Let's support this proven operator to do whatever they feel necessary to make the restaurant successful. It would be nice to have a long-standing restaurant there, rather than having the space turn over constantly, as it has over the last 8 years.

The opposition is strong, so let's make our voices of support heard. You can email your note of support to speakerscard@cb2manhattan.org and info@cb2manhattan.org. ***This must be done by 5pm ET TODAY Thursday Sept 23***

******************************************************************************

Sample Letter:

To the Members of Community Board 2,

I am writing in support of Blackfoot Hospitality, and their application for their newest restaurant at 99 Bank, The Mary Lane.

I live in the West Village, and have seen many restaurants come and go in the space at 99 Bank Street over the past several years. I am pleased to see a first-rate and well-established operator has taken over the space. They signed the lease in December 2019, and their plans to open in the subsequent months where curtailed due to the COVID epidemic which shut down NYC starting in March 2020, only a few months later.

The last 18 months have been extremely difficult and uncertain for restaurants in NYC. Somehow, Blackfoot has weathered this storm and managed to keep their other restaurants open through creative thinking (turning one into a taco stand when indoor dining was not permitted). Blackfoot is now preparing to open at 99 Bank St. They did not try to get out of their lease, which shows their commitment to the space. Their commitment to the neighborhood is clear, and evidenced by their 3 other long-standing restaurants in the West Village: The Clam, Market Table, and The Little Owl. The Little Owl opened over 15 years ago. These restaurants give the West Village the warmth and charm it is known for the world over.

I would passionately ask you to support Blackfoot's application to extend their liquor license to the outdoors. 

The pandemic is not over. Some diners are still not comfortable eating indoors. Indoor seating has had to be altered to allow for more distance between diners, reducing the capacity inside. To quote an August 27, 2021 Bloomberg article by Kate Krader: "It’s hard to overstate the turmoil restaurants have experienced since the pandemic closed down dining rooms across the country in early 2020."

I understand those in opposition are concerned about noise. There are restaurants very nearby with outdoor seating: MeMe is 80 feet away on Bank Street and has both street and sidewalk seating. Bus Stop Cafe is 246 feet away on Bethune Street and has sidewalk seating. These do not disturb the peaceful nature of the neighborhood. To suggest Greenwich Street is somehow special is disingenuous. Left Bank is about 500 feet away on Greenwich Street and has both sidewalk and street seating. Jeju Noodle and Gaetana's are on Greenwich Street about 1,600 feet away, both with street and sidewalk seating. These blocks are as idyllic and serene as the block in question here. If anything, Greenwich between Bank and Bethune is a bit scary at night as it's dimly lit and not well-trafficked.

Those opposed also claim Blackfoot is being greedy and has enough money to operate without the outdoor seating. How do they know this? It's speculative and again, disingenuous. Anyone that has run a small business in NYC, let alone a restaurant, can attest to the how difficult it is financially. I will not presume to know how to run a restaurant better than the operators of this successful restaurant group. If they believe this is what is required to be successful, I want them to do that. Their success is the success of the neighborhood in the form of a stable and long-term restaurant in that space. To address the claim the Board at 99 Bank is only interested in "paying their taxes" as someone claimed at the CB2 SLA Committee meeting earlier this month: the space has been empty for over 2 years and the taxes have been paid during that time. Whether the restaurant is successful or not, the taxes will continue to be paid. This is about being supportive of the very institutions that make our neighborhood vibrant, and a destination for people all over the city and the world. This is not some corporation, it's a small business run by individuals with a passion for food and their community, as evidenced by their 3 other long standing and well-run restaurants in this very neighborhood.

Please give Blackfoot the opportunity to remain competitive with other restaurants in the neighborhood, and give them the best chance to be successful at 99 Bank, and be a long-standing part of our corner of the Village.

Thank You for your service to the community, and your consideration of my comments. 

Respectfully,

[Your Name]