Soho Hot Spot Navy is Riling Up the Neighbors

Matt Abramcyk, who formerly owned the Beatrice Inn, has become an unwanted neighbor on a largely residential block of Sullivan Street. Abramcyk and his partner Akiva Elstein purchased the restaurant Jean Claude and reopened it as Navy earlier this year, with chef Camille Becerra at the helm. Now the music flowing from the seafood hot spot's open French doors and the customers outside smoking have become nuisances for neighbors, reports The Villager. One calls it a "nightlife kind of place that is impossible for residents to live with." Even old neighbors of Beatrice Inn who don't "want it to happen to anyone else," are chiming in on the debate according to Sean Sweeney, director of the Soho Alliance.

Now, the Navy team is hoping to expand next door into the space that previously held Once Upon a Tart. But, if neighbors have their say, Abramcyk and Elstein may not be getting a liquor license for it anytime soon. Abramcyk withdrew the application from the most recent Community Board 2 agenda, saying he wants to give it a few months so that he can prove to residents that he can "rehabilitate Navy." And according to at least one neighbor, he's been making good on that promise in recent weeks, so perhaps there's hope for his new project yet.
Update: A representative from Navy responds: :Navy is a neighborhood restaurant beloved by most. As always, in a community and block as strong as the historic Sullivan Street, it takes time to accommodate all the strong, important personalities of the neighborhood. We welcome the challenge and our biggest reason for opening in the mornings for breakfast and coffee and staying open through to dinner is to welcome our neighborhood community all day long, every day of the week."
· On sleepy Sullivan St., residents fear second coming of Beatrice Inn [The Villager]
· All Coverage of Beatrice Inn [~ENY~]
· All Coverage of Navy [~ENY~]