The local paper for the Upper er East Side
OURTOWNNY.COM
MARCH
NEW YORK'S MR. HOSPITALITY
19-25
Q&A, P.18 >
2015
OurTownEastSide Ou @OurTownNYC
45 Years and Counting
LINKING THE OLD AND NEW AT P.J. CLARKE’S AFFORDABLE HOUSING PLANS QUESTIONED Some say city program could be overly favorable to developers BY DANIEL FITZSIMMONS
A city program meant to promote the construction of affordable housing stock could actually be subtracting from it in some cases. Under the Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s inclusionary housing program, developers who build a certain number of permanently affordable units are entitled to floor area ratio (FAR) credits that can be applied to another project in the city or sold. But in some cases, the affordable units created may turn out to be fewer than had previously existed. On the Upper East Side, for instance, Icon Realty Management recently filed plans with HPD to build a sixstory, 12-unit apartment building at 405 E. 78th St, where 11 of the 12 units will be permanently affordable. In exchange, Icon is getting 32,500 square feet of additional building space that they’re applying to a 200,000 square foot project on 80th Street and Second Avenue. Under HPD’s program, developers can build on up to 20 percent more
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Sinatra’s bar, now in the Facebook age BY PANYIN CONDUAH
Every week for the rest of the year, Our Town will celebrate its 45th anniversary by profiling a neighborhood business that has been around longer than we have. Know of a local business that should be on our list? Email us at news@strausnews.com When you walk down the street at 55th Street and 3rd Avenue, it’s easy to pick out which building doesn’t fit in with the rest. Among the neighboring highrises, the stout red brick building known as PJ Clarke’s still stands tall in the changing neighborhood. This old-school time capsule has been in existence since 1884, and its three owners have taken on the challenge of preserving history. “It was a necessary need for the neighborhood for so long,” said Ariel Sims, director of communications. Patrick Joseph Clarke started off as a bartender, then took over and made it his own in 1912. To keep the business from being snatched into bigger hands, Clarke passed down the restaurant to the Lavezzos family and now to current owner Philip Scotti. “It’s sheer luck that Phil Scotti became involve in the venture, he was at the right place at the right time,” said Sims. Scotti has expanded the business, opening two locations in the city, a location in Woodbury, N.Y., Washington D.C., and two locations in San Paulo, Brazil. At the original location on 3rd
Illustration by John S. Winkleman Avenue, Bartender Jerry and Manager Carol continue to keep up the Irish feel. Throughout their 12 years of work, Jerry and Carol have enjoyed meeting an array of customers, ranging from construction workers to celebrities (including, famously, Frank Sinatra and songwriter Johnny Mercer, who penned “One For My Baby” on a napkin at the bar). Jerry also watches the transformation of customers who first come in as strangers. “They’re seated as strangers and by the end of their lunch they’re chatting and exchanging numbers with the people at the next table hanging out and making friend-
ships,” he said. As new bars enter the New York scene, PJ Clarke’s is able to hold its own. Customers are still able to flip through the old jukebox while they unwind after work or admire the photo collage of boxers, politicians and musicians. To connect online, the bar has launched a “It happened at PJ Clarke’s” Facebook campaign, to enable customers to swap stories. PJ Clarke’s remains one of the oldest bars in New York, along with Old Town, McSorley’s and Pete’s Tavern. Its owners are committed, though, to ensuring it also stays one of the most vibrant.
In Brief ANTITRUST DEAL FOR TOUR BUS COMPANIES Beloved by tourists, tolerated by locals. The big tour bus companies like City Sights and Gray Line have become a staple in Manhattan, as much a part of the tourist draw as Broadway shows and the Empire State Building. But they’ve also become a headache for locals, who complain about clogged traffic, aggressive hawkers, even unwelcome gawking if you happen to live on the second floor along their routes. Turns out, they’ve also been running an antitrust racket, according to a settlement reached this week between the bus companies and investigators. City Sights and Gray Line agreed to pay $7.5 million and give up nearly 50 of their stops in Manhattan to settle a lawsuit brought by state and federal investigators. That lawsuit, filed in 2012, accused the two companies of teaming up to eliminate competition and push up prices. By locking up the best stops at the top sights in the city, the two companies effectively kept other companies from entering the market, keeping prices high. So those armies of hawkers peddling tickets in color-coded windbreakers? They’ve basically been working for the same company, creating an illusion of competition when in fact little real competition existed. “This settlement allows competition to thrive once again, and ensures that these companies did not profit from operating an unlawful and anticompetitive joint venture,” Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman said in a statement following the settlement.
Jewish women and girls light up the world by lighting the Shabbat candle every Friday evening 18 minutes before sunset. Friday March 20 – 6:50 pm. For more information visit www.chabaduppereastside.com.