Rest. owner addresses complaints at CB2 meet
BY GABE HERMAN
Soho restaurant Piccola Cucina
has drawn complaints from some
neighbors for excessive noise and
crowds, and this month the owner appeared
before the community board to
address the issues.
Owner and chef Philip Guardione
appeared with his attorney Michael
Ferrari at a meeting of CB2’s Liquor Licensing
Committee. Chair Robert Ely
noted two previous meetings addressing
complaints about the restaurant, along
with a Villager article that focused on
late-night noise and crowd issues at the
75 Thompson St. location.
“We know what the problems are,”
Ely said at the meeting, which focused
on the 184 Prince St. location. He said
that when the restaurant was granted
its license in 2009 by the committee,
the closing hours were stated to be 11
p.m. and there were no front doors that
opened, Ely said. The doors, which are
now part of the restaurant, have been a
source of complaints about loud music
blasting out late at night.
Piccola didn’t come back to the committee
when the change to open doors
was made, Ely said, and they have been
kept open past 10 p.m. despite a previous
resolution stipulating that time
limit.
“I personally know that the doors
Piccola Cucina at 184 Prince St.
have been open past 10 p.m.,” Ely said,
noting times he has walked by the restaurant.
He said he would like the doors to be
closed by 9 p.m., which he said would
be a reasonable time. “I’m not looking
to penalize anybody, but to give back
to the neighborhood,” he said, noting
many felt they had been doused with
PHOTO BY GABE HERMAN
late-night noise.
The goal of the meeting was to work
together to improve the situation to
address complaints and also help the
business by giving them better standing
with local residents, Ely said.
He acknowledged, “I think there’s
a lot of people feeling upset on both
sides.” This played out during the meeting,
with occasional crowd interruptions
from opposing sides of the issue.
Attorney Michael Ferrari told the
committee that the restaurant recently
made changes, including lowering music
to a background level, and ending
celebrations involving banging pots
and pans. “They understand that it’s
very loud,” Ferrari said.
The restaurant does want to stay
open later than 11 p.m., Ferrari said,
and plans to fi le an application for that
at a later date.
Guardione said the restaurant is
open until midnight on weekends, but
said his operation is small and faces
many expenses. “I don’t have a chance,”
he said. He added, “I have a good relationship
with my neighbors,” and said
it was a small number of people who
were upset.
The committee opened up the discussion
to public comments, and about
a dozen people spoke — the majority in
favor of the restaurant. Defenders said
that the food was great and the staff
was friendly, and some said it felt like
family to be there. Some acknowledged
noise issues but said they were improving,
and that overall the restaurant was
a valuable part of the neighborhood.
Some people spoke against Piccola
Cucina, but also mostly acknowledged
that the noise problems were improving.
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