Roxy nightclub plans abandoned

The former Roxy club

Impresario David Casey and his partners have abandoned plans to reopen the former Roxy nightclub space at 515 West 18th Street, citing staunch neighborhood opposition.

The attorney for the group, Eden Ballroom, which owns nightclubs including Taj Lounge, announced the decision to withdraw its controversial liquor license application at a committee meeting of the local Community Board 4 last night, sparking cheers from a cadre of would-be protesters in the audience.

“The only way that we can be successful in applying for a liquor license, as well as maintaining a liquor license, is through a harmonious relationship with the neighbors,” the group’s lawyer, Frank Palillo of the firm Krongold and Palillo, said. “It doesn’t appear as though there’s going to be one. Toward that end, we’re willing to walk away from this project.”

He added that the would-be leaseholders were “actively looking at other locations” where the community might be more welcoming, prompting one panel member to quip, “Where there’s no residents?”

In January, the Eden group, had proposed a massive multi-level club, restaurant, and catering hall with a total capacity of 2,100. Concerns about the project’s size, scope and overall impact on the surrounding community led objectors to paper the neighborhood with “Stop Eden Ballroom” fliers. The group had not planned to use the Roxy name, according to Chelsea Now. Brooklyn-based Semantic Realty owns the space.

Originally opened as a roller disco in the 1970s, the famed Roxy ultimately closed its doors in 2007.
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