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Puking Drunks Terrorizing Union Square Co-Op's Expensive Garden
By
Nell Casey
Published Mar 8, 2013
Modified Mar 8, 2013
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By
Nell Casey
Published Mar 8, 2013
Modified Mar 8, 2013
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Union Square "upscale" sports bar SideBAR is drawing criticism from neighbors who say drunk patrons are puking, peeing and plodding all over their expensive garden. Tenants of the co-op building at 145 East 15th Street complained at a community board meeting last month that revelers coming from the nearby bar were "wreak[ing] havoc" on the $60,000 garden that wraps around the building. "Sometimes I see whole bushes stomped on and flowers yanked out and plenty of trash," says building superintendent Peter Gjoni. "Sometimes there's vomit on the sidewalk and in the garden."
SideBAR bills itself as an elegant sports bar that "redefines a genre," but having been to the bar one Saturday for a Gators football game—I was meeting a friend, I swear!—the shot girls, plastic cups and dancing on the tables did little to "redefine" anything except the minimum amount of time one can spend inside a place before getting the hell out. Daily bar specials are likely a big draw for folks who want to get boozed up on a budget, including "Late Night Happy Hours" offering big discounts on beer and liquor plus a two-for-one shot deal on Wednesday nights, and more. With binge-drinking encouragement like that it's no shock that patrons are barfing in the boxwoods. Gerard Mounic, president of the 145 E. 15th St. Tenants Association, says the problem is even more glaring when pub crawls stumble through the area.
DNAinfo was on hand for the Community Board 6 meeting where SideBAR was in search of a liquor license renewal, which was ultimately granted but with stipulations. SideBAR owner Zach Israel offered to leave his cell phone number in the bar window so residents could contact him directly whenever they had an issue; he also promised to beef up security whenever marauding, costumed drunks might be at the bar. Here's hoping Israel has unlimited minutes—he's going to need them!
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