Newest Hottest Club According To Daily News

[511w28thst]

This below article was in the Daily news today Sunday!

FEATURING: QUONYC.COM

QUO.... GOING TO BE NEW YORK CITY'S HOTTEST CLUB

In West Chelsea, life is a cabaret

A cluster of nightclubs opening on 27th St.

is transforming the area into a hot new destination

By CHRISSY PERSICO

It started with art.

In the late '90s, West Chelsea began its transformation from a neighborhood of grimy auto-repair shops and garages into a bastion of chic galleries and photo studios. Stylish visitors inhabited the neighborhood by day, and disappeared at night.

But it was only a matter of time before nightlife followed the money. And on W. 27th St., that time is now.

Five new nightspots are set to join Amy Sacco's Bungalow 8 on this industrial block between the High Line and 11th Ave., home to warehouses, a scrap-metal processor and a spare-tire shop. You might call it nightclubber's paradise in the rough.

The cavernous buildings of 27th St. and adjacent blocks will soon be filled with neon lights, booming beats, Veuve Cliquot and, yes, strippers. Scores will open its second location in a 10,000-square-foot brick building on 28th St. (across from a lumber supply lot) in November. By December, the gentleman's club will be joined by Spirit New York — a New Age club with a flagship in Dublin — Crobar, QUO and a lounge designed by legendary architect Philip Johnson.

"Chelsea is starting to become a very upscale, trendy area, so why shouldn't there be trendy clubs there?" asks Lawrence E. Fiedler, a professor at New York University's Real Estate Institute. However, while the 27th St. strip is just a shot-glass' throw from hip 10th Ave. bars and restaurants like Bottino, Glass and Bongo, it is sheer necessity that brought most club owners to West Chelsea. "I'm over here so I can have a cabaret license," says Carlo Anthony Seneca, one of the owners, who plans to open QUO , a swanky lounge with a huge dance floor in an 8,000-square-foot former auto shop, early next year. "That's what pushed everyone over to this area."

60-foot ceilings and the freedom to design

Twenty-Seventh St. west of 10th Ave. lies in a manufacturing zone, where, unlike residential zones, cabaret use is permitted by city regulations. The relative lack of development in the area made it attractive to club owners in the market for large spaces.

"The facilities to house a large number of people are there, the occupancy costs are reasonable compared to other places in the city and the residential component of the neighborhood is not concentrated, so you are less likely to get complaints from people," says Fiedler.

Noah Tepperberg and Jason Strauss, co-owners of the Johnson-designed space set to open December 1st in a former garbage-truck facility on the corner of 10th Ave. and 27th St., saw West Chelsea as the only place to accommodate the lounge's design.

"We were looking for a long time to find a place that could be custom-built," says Tepperberg, who opened the infamous Hampton's club Conscience Point with Strauss and was a collaborator on Suite 16. "It was hard to find a raw space that we could build to spec. The only place we were able to find it was in this neighborhood."

Cal Fortis, who will open Crobar on Nov. 20 in a 35,000-square-foot building on 28th St. so massive that Macy's Thanksgiving Parade balloons were once inflated there, saw West Chelsea as the ideal New York City outpost for the club. "Opening Crobar in a raw space gave us much more freedom in design and allowed us to create a club unlike any other in New York," he says. The main dance area will have 60-foot ceilings.

As an adult club, Scores didn't have many locations to choose from when it decided to expand beyond its popular E. 60th St. site. "The only place you can build a strip club is in one of these zones," says Scores spokesman Lonnie Hanover. Good news, fellas: On 28th St., Scores ladies will be topless in 100% of the rooms, as opposed to 40% on the East Side.

Nightclubs have long found homes in manufacturing zones, from Sound Factory, Twilo and the Tunnel on 27th St. to the recently reopened Copacabana at 34th and 11th, and groupings of several nightspots in one area are nothing new.

"Clubs opening in clusters has been a trend for years," says Tepperberg, citing as examples Lafayette St., where Joe's Pub, Serafina, Pangaea, Butter and Rehab all line the block, as well as the Meatpacking District and W. 21st St..

The difference on 27th St. is that the club owners setting up shop there have a bigger picture in mind. "You've got people with real experience and long-term business models, not people looking to take a bar, renovate it, bang it out for a couple of years without the right licenses and then move on to another place," says Tepperberg. "All of us are spending millions of dollars because we plan on being there for a while, and the businesses are not just about nightclubs."

Tepperberg's lounge will be open for drinks five nights a week after 10 p.m., but will primarily serve as an event space for special event such as movie premieres and fashion shows. The owners also plan to capitalize on the surrounding galleries by coordinating events with show openings. Spirit, opening in November at 530 W. 27th, will consist of three separate zones: a full-time wellness center, a raw-food restaurant, and a performance space and dance club.

A commitment to growing roots on 27th St. may create the kind of permanent nightlife destination that is more prominent in other cities. "In Boston you have four or five clubs in a row on Lansdowne St., and in Miami there are clubs up and down Collins and Washington Aves.," says David Rabin, president of the New York Nightlife Association. "I don't think it's ever happened like this in New York."

The respective owners of the 27th St. clubs were drawn to West Chelsea independently, but the cluster may bode well for an often-controversial nightclub business. "These people are opening nightclubs where they're supposed to open nightclubs, in neighborhoods that are meant for that type of use that aren't going to disturb residents, which is good for our industry," says Rabin.

In a competitive business with a quick burnout rate, opening a new club next to four others may seem risky, but the proprietors are embracing it. "We found out afterwards that all these other places were opening up and it was almost like a home run," says Seneca. "The more the merrier."

Spirit's owner Robby Wootton agrees. "It would be a lot harder if we were out here on our own," he says. "And what's good over here is that nobody's doing the same thing."

The introduction of several spots with various themes will boost business in a part of town that sees decreased foot traffic after dark. "I don't think there's anyone so powerful these days that they can go to some faraway destination and open up the doors and be busy seven nights a week," says Rabin. "You need neighbors."

An extra 7,000 people in the neighborhood

Clubs hoping to become a fixture in the area must also take their noncommercial neighbors into consideration. "We take all these new spots very seriously when they come before us," says Anthony Borelli, District Manager for Community Board 4, whose main concerns are increased traffic and a possible degradation of surrounding neighborhoods by a flood of rowdy patrons. "In order to get [to W. 27th St.] you have to go through a residential neighborhood," says Borelli.

"It's a combat zone over there now," says Cheryl Kupper, a longtime Chelsea resident of 18th St. at Ninth Ave., when asked about the developments on W. 27th St. After living close to the Roxy for years, she knows first-hand that patrons traveling to and from a club are a major disturbance. "They arrive at 11:30 p.m. half in the bag and come back to their cars at 4:30 in the morning, drunk out of their minds, urinating and leaving bottles around," she says. "If every club fills up once on a single night, there will be an extra 7,000 people around the neighborhood."

At what point can club owners absolve themselves of responsibility for their customers' behavior? "Owners say, 'I can't control my patrons once they're out the door,'" says Kupper, an active Community Board 4 member. "I keep saying, 'But you invited them here, so they're your responsibility.'" She hopes that owners will consider hiring private security services to patrol surrounding blocks when the clubs open for business.

Return of the nightclub boogie

"We will definitely feel something, because the patrons will be looking for parking down where we live," says Sheila Heimbinder, who owns a loft on 22nd St. between 10th and 11th. She is more concerned that the influx of clubs "will affect the community of low-income housing on 27th and 10th." Having met representatives from most of the new venues already, Borelli acknowledged that "for the most part, they agreed to all our stipulations," regarding security, traffic and queuing.

Opening a nightspot in an area zoned for cabaret use is not just smart business. It's also a step toward bringing some much-needed boogie back into New York's nightlife. "I've heard people say they've forgotten how to dance," says Seneca. Head to QUO later this year for a refresher course.

[xxlea]

:laugh:

Since when is the Daily News the leading source in up and coming clubs?? It's partially the media's fault that so many great clubs have shut down. Distoring the truth and exaggeration.

[babbo]

Originally posted by xxlea

:laugh:

Since when is the Daily News the leading source in up and coming clubs?? It's partially the media's fault that so many great clubs have shut down. Distoring the truth and exaggeration.

sulfur flash- don't blink

[xxrachael1xx]

i thought it was a good article.

thanks for posting it

it is very positive and up-lifting, un like some of the negative farts here.

[bbbooom]

Originally posted by 511w28thst

This below article was in the Daily news today Sunday!

DeN 28.... GOING TO BE NEW YORK CITY'S HOTTEST CLUB

In West Chelsea, life is a cabaret

A cluster of nightclubs opening on 27th St.

is transforming the area into a hot new destination

By CHRISSY PERSICO

It started with art.

In the late '90s, West Chelsea began its transformation from a neighborhood of grimy auto-repair shops and garages into a bastion of chic galleries and photo studios. Stylish visitors inhabited the neighborhood by day, and disappeared at night.

But it was only a matter of time before nightlife followed the money. And on W. 27th St., that time is now.

Five new nightspots are set to join Amy Sacco's Bungalow 8 on this industrial block between the High Line and 11th Ave., home to warehouses, a scrap-metal processor and a spare-tire shop. You might call it nightclubber's paradise in the rough.

The cavernous buildings of 27th St. and adjacent blocks will soon be filled with neon lights, booming beats, Veuve Cliquot and, yes, strippers. Scores will open its second location in a 10,000-square-foot brick building on 28th St. (across from a lumber supply lot) in November. By December, the gentleman's club will be joined by Spirit New York — a New Age club with a flagship in Dublin — Crobar, Den 28 and a lounge designed by legendary architect Philip Johnson.

"Chelsea is starting to become a very upscale, trendy area, so why shouldn't there be trendy clubs there?" asks Lawrence E. Fiedler, a professor at New York University's Real Estate Institute. However, while the 27th St. strip is just a shot-glass' throw from hip 10th Ave. bars and restaurants like Bottino, Glass and Bongo, it is sheer necessity that brought most club owners to West Chelsea. "I'm over here so I can have a cabaret license," says Carlo Anthony Seneca, who plans to open Den 28, a swanky lounge with a huge dance floor in an 8,000-square-foot former auto shop, early next year. "That's what pushed everyone over to this area."

60-foot ceilings and the freedom to design

Twenty-Seventh St. west of 10th Ave. lies in a manufacturing zone, where, unlike residential zones, cabaret use is permitted by city regulations. The relative lack of development in the area made it attractive to club owners in the market for large spaces.

"The facilities to house a large number of people are there, the occupancy costs are reasonable compared to other places in the city and the residential component of the neighborhood is not concentrated, so you are less likely to get complaints from people," says Fiedler.

Noah Tepperberg and Jason Strauss, co-owners of the Johnson-designed space set to open December 1st in a former garbage-truck facility on the corner of 10th Ave. and 27th St., saw West Chelsea as the only place to accommodate the lounge's design.

"We were looking for a long time to find a place that could be custom-built," says Tepperberg, who opened the infamous Hampton's club Conscience Point with Strauss and was a collaborator on Suite 16. "It was hard to find a raw space that we could build to spec. The only place we were able to find it was in this neighborhood."

Cal Fortis, who will open Crobar on Nov. 20 in a 35,000-square-foot building on 28th St. so massive that Macy's Thanksgiving Parade balloons were once inflated there, saw West Chelsea as the ideal New York City outpost for the club. "Opening Crobar in a raw space gave us much more freedom in design and allowed us to create a club unlike any other in New York," he says. The main dance area will have 60-foot ceilings.

As an adult club, Scores didn't have many locations to choose from when it decided to expand beyond its popular E. 60th St. site. "The only place you can build a strip club is in one of these zones," says Scores spokesman Lonnie Hanover. Good news, fellas: On 28th St., Scores ladies will be topless in 100% of the rooms, as opposed to 40% on the East Side.

Nightclubs have long found homes in manufacturing zones, from Sound Factory, Twilo and the Tunnel on 27th St. to the recently reopened Copacabana at 34th and 11th, and groupings of several nightspots in one area are nothing new.

"Clubs opening in clusters has been a trend for years," says Tepperberg, citing as examples Lafayette St., where Joe's Pub, Serafina, Pangaea, Butter and Rehab all line the block, as well as the Meatpacking District and W. 21st St..

The difference on 27th St. is that the club owners setting up shop there have a bigger picture in mind. "You've got people with real experience and long-term business models, not people looking to take a bar, renovate it, bang it out for a couple of years without the right licenses and then move on to another place," says Tepperberg. "All of us are spending millions of dollars because we plan on being there for a while, and the businesses are not just about nightclubs."

Tepperberg's lounge will be open for drinks five nights a week after 10 p.m., but will primarily serve as an event space for special event such as movie premieres and fashion shows. The owners also plan to capitalize on the surrounding galleries by coordinating events with show openings. Spirit, opening in November at 530 W. 27th, will consist of three separate zones: a full-time wellness center, a raw-food restaurant, and a performance space and dance club.

A commitment to growing roots on 27th St. may create the kind of permanent nightlife destination that is more prominent in other cities. "In Boston you have four or five clubs in a row on Lansdowne St., and in Miami there are clubs up and down Collins and Washington Aves.," says David Rabin, president of the New York Nightlife Association. "I don't think it's ever happened like this in New York."

The respective owners of the 27th St. clubs were drawn to West Chelsea independently, but the cluster may bode well for an often-controversial nightclub business. "These people are opening nightclubs where they're supposed to open nightclubs, in neighborhoods that are meant for that type of use that aren't going to disturb residents, which is good for our industry," says Rabin.

In a competitive business with a quick burnout rate, opening a new club next to four others may seem risky, but the proprietors are embracing it. "We found out afterwards that all these other places were opening up and it was almost like a home run," says Seneca. "The more the merrier."

Spirit's owner Robby Wootton agrees. "It would be a lot harder if we were out here on our own," he says. "And what's good over here is that nobody's doing the same thing."

The introduction of several spots with various themes will boost business in a part of town that sees decreased foot traffic after dark. "I don't think there's anyone so powerful these days that they can go to some faraway destination and open up the doors and be busy seven nights a week," says Rabin. "You need neighbors."

An extra 7,000 people in the neighborhood

Clubs hoping to become a fixture in the area must also take their noncommercial neighbors into consideration. "We take all these new spots very seriously when they come before us," says Anthony Borelli, District Manager for Community Board 4, whose main concerns are increased traffic and a possible degradation of surrounding neighborhoods by a flood of rowdy patrons. "In order to get [to W. 27th St.] you have to go through a residential neighborhood," says Borelli.

"It's a combat zone over there now," says Cheryl Kupper, a longtime Chelsea resident of 18th St. at Ninth Ave., when asked about the developments on W. 27th St. After living close to the Roxy for years, she knows first-hand that patrons traveling to and from a club are a major disturbance. "They arrive at 11:30 p.m. half in the bag and come back to their cars at 4:30 in the morning, drunk out of their minds, urinating and leaving bottles around," she says. "If every club fills up once on a single night, there will be an extra 7,000 people around the neighborhood."

At what point can club owners absolve themselves of responsibility for their customers' behavior? "Owners say, 'I can't control my patrons once they're out the door,'" says Kupper, an active Community Board 4 member. "I keep saying, 'But you invited them here, so they're your responsibility.'" She hopes that owners will consider hiring private security services to patrol surrounding blocks when the clubs open for business.

Return of the nightclub boogie

"We will definitely feel something, because the patrons will be looking for parking down where we live," says Sheila Heimbinder, who owns a loft on 22nd St. between 10th and 11th. She is more concerned that the influx of clubs "will affect the community of low-income housing on 27th and 10th." Having met representatives from most of the new venues already, Borelli acknowledged that "for the most part, they agreed to all our stipulations," regarding security, traffic and queuing.

Opening a nightspot in an area zoned for cabaret use is not just smart business. It's also a step toward bringing some much-needed boogie back into New York's nightlife. "I've heard people say they've forgotten how to dance," says Seneca. Head to W. 27th St. later this year for a refresher course.

Work in progress:

Gary Malhotra and Carlo Anthony Seneca at 511 West 28th Street, site of Den 28

kill yourself

[donnie]

Originally posted by xxlea

:laugh:

Since when is the Daily News the leading source in up and coming clubs?? It's partially the media's fault that so many great clubs have shut down. Distoring the truth and exaggeration.

that is very true. but if they are printin something like this then thats the least those bastards can do.

[starchild2010]

what the fuck does a Newspaper know about clubs????.... the media is the one of the main reasons why the best clubs NYC had to offer were closed.

[511w28thst]

The media is not the one of the main reasons why the best clubs in NYC were closed.

Its the club owners responsiblity to run a 100% legal enviorment for its patrons. This includes for example aquiring the right licenses like a cabaret license for legal dancing.

The media just does it job to report news!

[exit24e]

I think the main reason is the drugs. I'm probably crazy though

[511w28thst]

drugs are the number 1 reason why clubs shut down!

owners must take every precaution it keep it out!

after all its a simple thing...drugs are illegal!

[mhaze107]

"They arrive at 11:30 p.m. half in the bag and come back to their cars at 4:30 in the morning, drunk out of their minds, urinating and leaving bottles around,"

If only she could see the people inside the club. I'm sure she'd change her mind. Also, note how she talks about their cars (ahem, Jersey lol).

[511w28thst]

well anyway you look at it the New York club scene is back !

28th street is gonna be clubbers paradise! i dont think there was any era in new york when you could club hop like this all on the same block

[brandonius54w]

Yeah that would be great but....HOW ABOUT SOME OF THESE CLUBS actually opening? ? The Club atmosphere IS loosening up. No doubt. Lets get CRobar,Spirit and all these other places open already!!!! :laugh:

[exit24e]

Originally posted by 511w28thst

well anyway you look at it the New York club scene is back !

28th street is gonna be clubbers paradise! i dont think there was any era in new york when you could club hop like this all on the same block

yea bc of a venue other than yours...

[luztidara]

Originally posted by exit24e

yea bc of a venue other than yours...

:laugh:

[oldtimer]

Originally posted by 511w28thst

well anyway you look at it the New York club scene is back !

28th street is gonna be clubbers paradise! i dont think there was any era in new york when you could club hop like this all on the same block

clubhopping?? who here on this board can actually afford to go clubhopping at these new clubs? they're mad loot to get in to.. if i go out to a club im lucky if i have enough money to get my drink on.. nevermind going down the block to pay another 30 dollar cover

[silence15530]

This is pretty funny.... The media promoting clubs??? Early this year the 6am news was promoting Limelight's reopening lmao.... WOW is the media that corrupt that they support things that they've shut down..... it was an informative article though ... but I don't like two-faced things.... And the media is one of those..... didn't the Daily news have an article criticizing tunnel when it closed??? i dunno forsure, but i think they did.....speaking of tunnel... someone should buy that place and open it

[Roxxia]

The NYC club scene is rising once again,and ,regardless of the fact that alot of clubs are opening up in the same area doesn't mean anything!

People, keep the positivity going here!

Regardless of the "facts" and statistics, every club will be unique and have its own 'vibe".

There is room for expansion and change!

Embrace change!

Embrace the future!

[bbbooom]

Originally posted by silence15530

This is pretty funny.... The media promoting clubs??? Early this year the 6am news was promoting Limelight's reopening lmao.... WOW is the media that corrupt that they support things that they've shut down..... it was an informative article though ... but I don't like two-faced things.... And the media is one of those..... didn't the Daily news have an article criticizing tunnel when it closed??? i dunno forsure, but i think they did.....speaking of tunnel... someone should buy that place and open it

WHATS PRETTY FUNNY (LAME TOO!)IS THAT YOU JUST REPLIED TO A MONTH OLD THREAD THAT SEEMD TO BE 10 YEARS AGO LET ALONE A MONTH

[silence15530]

hahaha you're funny

[jamezzz]

Originally posted by 511w28thst

well anyway you look at it the New York club scene is back !

28th street is gonna be clubbers paradise! i dont think there was any era in new york when you could club hop like this all on the same block

Agreed it should be a gr8 jump for nightlife finally it was getting mad depressing.....are any of these venues afterhours?????

[djmikedr]

Originally posted by starchild2010

what the fuck does a Newspaper know about clubs????.... the media is the one of the main reasons why the best clubs NYC had to offer were closed.

No. It's drugs.

The media just reports the drugs.