Mario Batali's much-loved Village Italian Babbo has been getting complaints about the noise it makes for years (see: here, here). But mostly those complaints haven't been much of an issue for the highly lucrative venture. Until now.
See, Babbo is technically located on a residential block. Which means that it has to have a special permit to even do business. And last night that permit came into question when what should have been a routine renewal vote at a Community Board meeting had to be postponed due to a neighbor's vocal complaints. DNAinfo was there and gives a good recap of the circumstances:
That approval was expected to sail through CB2 Wednesday night, an official said before the meeting, but a surprise David vs. Goliath battle arose when a neighborhood resident unleashed a tirade about the hot spot, which he says lets idling limos clog the block and spew out exhaust fumes.
He also blamed Babbo for creating an ear-splitting ruckus by not crushing their scores of disposed wine bottles before they're picked up by garbage trucks.
"They're very wealthy, but somehow they forget their neighbors," said next-door-neighbor Nuri Akgul, 57, who has lived in his duplex for the past 16 years.
Akgul, a retired English-as-a-second-language teacher, said he's been trying to tamp down on noise and exhaust for more than a decade.
Babbo's attorneys were apparently caught off guard by the complaints ("We entered into a written agreement to fulfill these issues," they said) and so the vote was postponed. Meanwhile, the city Board of Standards and Appeals will hear Babbo's application at a public hearing February 26. Somehow we suspect that Batali's baby will make it through this though.
