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Proposed 'Bad Manors' communal-dining concept raises ventilation and delivery concerns on Great Jones Street
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Summary
Applicants promoted a standing communal-table fine-dining concept at 25 Great Jones Street; residents warned that venting through a narrow courtyard and delivery loading could increase noise and odors and asked for mechanical engineering review and coordinated delivery scheduling.
Developers of a proposed upscale, largely subterranean restaurant at 25 Great Jones Street described a novel communal-table dining model and said the space would be fully soundproofed and close at midnight.
Bill Doerr (attorney/agent for the applicant) said the owners aim to offer a quick, high-end dining experience with most seating at a standing communal table and "background recorded music only," and emphasized plans for soundproofing and a scrubber-equipped HVAC system for kitchen ventilation. "Most of this space is subterranean, and the entirety of the space is soundproofed," the applicant said during the presentation.
Neighbors raised detailed technical concerns about the proposed venting route, which the applicant said would discharge through an existing gooseneck into a courtyard. Residents questioned whether the courtyard's geometry, adjacent residential windows, and prior equipment in the yard would undermine the scrubber's effectiveness, and asked for a mechanical engineer to meet with building stakeholders for review.
Traffic and deliveries were also a focus: residents and board members said Great Jones Street already experiences heavy deliveries and construction-related lane changes, and asked the applicant to coordinate vendor schedules with nearby businesses and to avoid adding late-night double-parked trucks that could impede emergency vehicles. The applicants proposed early-morning delivery windows and committed to consulting with neighboring restaurants on garbage/removal schedules.
The committee asked the applicants to produce mechanical-engineer documentation, demonstrate noise/vibration mitigation plans in writing, and agree to a neighborhood meeting with the buildings that abut the courtyard before the board's business vote.
What's next: The applicant agreed to share HVAC plans and to meet with neighbors and the board's technical reviewers; the committee will consider stipulations tying approval to documented noise- and venting-mitigation measures.
