The New York Posts has a few quick points about Richie Notar and reveals that the new incarnation of Lenox Lounge will be opening in March of 2013. The famous restauranteur behind Nobu will take over the lease of the space just below 125th Street and appears to be confident in keeping the name intact based on this press report:
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This is a nice Christmas Present for Harlem.
ReplyDeletebest news of the year
ReplyDeleteIt will be great to see the Lenox Lounge finally participate in the hot new upper Lenox scene.
ReplyDeleteAs much as I am loathe to read the Post, this is good news. I hope the name stays and Notar is able to bring it back better than before.
ReplyDeleteBelow, my original post of 12/14; following that, a somewhat more succint version. Cut either to your heart's content but in any case post SOME corrective--Mr. Reed restored and owns the Lenox Lounge, no one can reopen it w/o working out a deal with him, and Mr. Notar has completely ignored that fact, and Mr. Reed:
ReplyDeleteSorry to bear bad news, but the Post is beyond misleading. I was at the meeting of Community Board 10's Economic Development Committee Thursday night (12/13/12), where Mr. Notar applied for a liquor license; it got very heated. Though Mr. Notar is trying hard to make it look like he's "restoring"--if not saving--the Lenox Lounge, he has never approached Alvin Reed, the current owner, nor responded to any of Mr. Reed's overtures. Mr. Notar presents himself as revering Harlem and its culture but seems to assume he gets to take over this historic "art deco gem" just by signing the lease, without in any way acknowledging--or compensating--the person who did restore it, and who owns it. This appears to be what angers Mr. Reed the most, likewise many of the attendees. As Mr. Notar clearly never had any intention of working with him, at all, I gather Mr. Reed means to strip the space and reopen the Lenox Lounge elsewhere whenever he can, though he would much prefer to maintain it where it's been these 70 years and had once hoped to broach this to Mr. Notar.
The Post article is beyond misleading. Thursday night's meeting of Community Board 10's Economic Development Committee, where Richard Notar applied for a liquor license, got very heated. Notar is trying hard to make it look like he's restoring/saving the Lenox Lounge--and Alvin Reed, the current owner, is not happy about it. In fact Notar has never approached Mr. Reed nor responded to his overtures and clearly never intended to work with him in any way. I'd say Notar bolted out of there shaken--he's seen as taking over, forcing out a Harlemite who helped build the Harlem he, Notar, wants to do business in, eradicating vital heritage in the process--because the Lenox Lounge is not reopening without Mr. Reed, who did restore it, and owns it. One of the angrier attendees told Mr. Reed she'd personally pay to help him strip the place to the bone and leave Notar with nothing.
A very sad end for the historic Lenox lounge, reduced to a collection of zebra prints collecting mold in a NJ storage facility, presided over by a spiteful Mr. Reed waiting for some investor to offer him millions for the name. If he could not make the Lenox Lounge work in its current form, I doubt he will ever make it work elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteMr. Reed IS making Lenox Lounge work in its current form. The piece of the story that is missing here is that the whole unfortunate scenario started with the landlord of the building raising the Lounge's rent astronomically. This is why Mr. Reed is looking for someone to "work with him" to keep it going, as he has done by himself for almost 3 decades. Not because he wants to make millions on its name.
ReplyDeleteWell Mr. Reed is apparently not making it work, Red Rooster, Lenox Social and Chez Lucienne are all very busy (working) while the one establishment with the advantage of history on it’s side has only a fraction of the customers (not working).
DeleteThe issue of astronomical increases in commercial rent is a CRITICAL to the discussion. Very few non-chain businesses can withstand greedy landlords, be it in Harlem or elsewhere in the city.
DeleteRent increase should have been critical to Mr. Reed, he had plenty of time to see it coming and he had time to step up his game, but failed to do so. The other establishments on that strip are vey busy and Lenox Lounge should have attracted some of the new customers, now Harlem may lose some of its history, very sad.
DeleteGreedy landlords? If you own property, why would you take anything less than maximum value? Do you pay $5 for something that is priced at $3 in the store? No, that would be stupid. Just like the landlord would be stupid to charge $10,000 when there is someone willing to pay $20,000.
ReplyDeleteSometimes the people on this blog amaze me. If reed wanted to own the property, he should have bought it. There is not such thing as a free lunch.
Rent increase should have been critical to Mr. Reed, he had plenty of time to see it coming and he had time to step up his game, but failed to do so. The other establishments on that strip are vey busy and Lenox Lounge should have attracted some of the new customers, now Harlem may lose some of its history.
ReplyDeleteIt is not at all unusual to see rent increases of this type in commercial real estate. People often sign long-term leases in which they lock in a rent for 10+ years, such that by the time their lease ends it is substantially below market. It's not like an apartment where one leases on a yearly basis and assumes 3-5% annual increase.
ReplyDeleteWhatever else, Alvin Reed invested in Harlem 25 years ago--would Richie Notar have wanted to?--and has kept the Lenox Lounge going since. If you'd taken out a loan to buy it when it was in bad shape, had spent hundreds of thousands to restore it, would you walk away and leave it to someone who refused to return your calls, for months? Mr. Reed won't strip it out of spite but so he can reopen it elsewhere. The Lenox Lounge is a neighborhood hangout, where folks he grew up with and their families can come, not just well-off people; where local musicians can play. I'm not from Harlem but the Red Rooster is beyond my means and has nothing like the same living heritage of music. Notar says it's "an art deco gem," he "doesn't want to change a thing" as if he's doing people a favor--but the Lenox Lounge belongs to someone else. Clearly Notar always intended just to take over.
ReplyDeleteAny stripping of the Lenox Lounge interior so it can be preserved and reinstated in another space is a) not practical and b) will cost a fortune. In reality, I doubt Mr. Reed has the means to strip it for reinstating elsewhere, it would be more practical just to reappoint a new space. So I find it hard to believe that his plan of stripping the Lenox Lounge interior can be anything but out of spite.
ReplyDeleteSo Alvin Reed commits decades to cultivating a venerable institution as well as neighborhood watering hole (that was never anything but inclusive or "participatory" ) only to have Notar in one fell swoop, overtake the entire establishment. Notar contends that he has no intention of changing a thing and yet he does not have the respect to confer with the man who is critical to the house and the legacy that he so boldly claims he will uphold? I'm sorry to say but this is rubbish. Murals by "local artists" will not redeem the place and money may pay the rent but what you cannot buy is heart, soul or authenticity. It will be a vessel, a physical shell but I am hard pressed to think it will be much else.
ReplyDeleteFurther - why should Reed sell his business when the primary reason that he has to shut his doors is that he cannot afford to pay the outrageous rent. No New York city neighborhood is immune to gentrification but what’s happening in Harlem is more offensive than not. That is to say this attitude that there is a great “revival” underway , that Harlem only now is “becoming the place to be” – how ridiculous not to mention arrogant.. Harlem has always been regenerating and finding ways to move forward whilst maintaing a sense of place and history. Adding something like Whole Foods to the neighborhood although convenient is hardly an accomplishment. The “boom” that many are claiming is underway is basically an explosion of consumptive not cultural activity. The demise of the Lenox Lounge being very much a case in point.
Rather sad and misguided if you ask me.