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City board agrees there's meat to neighbors' beef with Butcher Shop
By adamg on Tue, 06/08/2010 - 12:37pm
The Butcher Shop on Tremont Street in the South End agreed this morning to work with neighboring condo owners to settle complaints over possible noise and odors from a planned oven duct.
The upscale butcher shop and eatery had to replace the ventilation system for its ovens when the fan inside the system failed on May 3. Residents told the Boston Licensing Board this morning that a temporary system means noise in their units and that the shop's proposed replacement vent would be pointed right at the condos of some residents of 100 Tremont St.
Arthur Hagopian, a resident of another building, said residents are also concerned about noise echoing through a carefully tended alley between the two buildings, which could disrupt not only residents who enjoy it but the cardinals and other birds who frequent it - as well as bring down their property values. The alley, he said, is "an echo chamber and container of smells."
Jack Seidman, the Butcher Shop's HVAC consultant, said the problem with building a higher stack is that it would likely be visible from the street, which could cause problems with city historical preservation officials. Jeff Macklin, owner Barbara Lynch's chief operating officer, said the restaurant is being forced to deal with numerous city agencies and boards. "It is a Rubik's Cube of trying to find a solution," he said.
Licensing Board Chairman Daniel Pokaski, however, said the residents deserve the quiet enjoyment of their homes, that "people of good will" can find a solution and that the issues are no different from those faced all the time by restaurants in the Back Bay and on Beacon Hill.
"Let's deal with the historical thing when we have to deal with the historical thing," he said. "Let's solve the problem first and pay the extra couple of bucks. ... Come on, it's not insurmountable, we could figure it out, can't we?
Macklin agreed to come up with a new proposal, but asked Pokaski to get residents to stop calling the restaurant up or even walking in and cursing out restaurant workers. Pokaski said that was not within his purview.
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Comments
These are the pricks who took
These are the pricks who took over the South End and now want it to be the boring suburb from whence they escaped for the "vibracy" and "diversity" of the city. So long as it isn't noisy, smelly or "unsafe" then they are good with city living.
Whit
Why does living in the city mean giving up all quiet?
Yeah, I get the whole urban-life thing (grew up in New York, after all, father still lives on Bleecker Street in the middle of Greenwich Village). But does that mean businesses can do whatever the hell they feel like with no consequences just because their owners are so beyond cool it hurts?
The Butcher Shop is in two buildings, basically, one four stories, the other six. Putting the vent on top of the six-story building would eliminate all the issues. So why not do that? Because Ms. Lynch has a patio up there. Why does her right to not have a vent in the middle of a patio trump the right of people in the building next to hers not to have an exhaust vent right under their windows (technically, ten feet away, because that's the minimum called for by city code)?
Because there is a city code
Because there is a city code that apparently allows her to do it? The issue has been decided, it seems, in the past: you're allowed to build an exhaust vent 10 feet from other windows.
OK. I haven't actually been
OK. I haven't actually been to the apartments and seen where the vent is going, nor have i seen the alley that is going to echo with the sounds of whatever it is--an oven blowing or whatnot. Sounds like you have. But this sure sounds like a bunch of people who got their knickers in a knot because they suddenly realized that they live in a mixed use neighborhood and that restaurants sometimes emit cooking odors. The fact that your father lives on Bleecker street doesn't enter into it because you are not one of the people who is lving in this situation--you only posted the material and you aren't the one complaining but I see your point if they REALLY do have something to complain about--but I have my doubts.
Whit
Aw, let me hold onto my last little bit of street cred
Yeah, this doesn't affect me personally in the least, living here in one of the most suburban parts of Boston (the nearest store of any kind is almost a mile away and, uh, oh, here comes my one sad-but-absolutely-true joke, it's uphill both ways).
Mentioned my upbringing and father's current address just to show that, despite my current "suburban" lifestyle (hey, wanna talk about crabgrass and grubs? Well, crabgrass, anyway, since I don't think we have enough grass anymore to interest the grubs), I do get the idea of how life would be different downtown. The possible issue here (no, I haven't visited that location, either) is that residents weren't complaining about the old exhaust system, but now it's getting replaced with something potentially noisier. So it's different from those people who moved next door to the South Street Diner then complained about the noise.
Street Cred
I have lived in an appartment above a commercial oven vent and it sucks. We're not talking about the occasional whiff of steak here, we're talking about the heavy smell of smoke and grease during all restaurant hours. See that big stainless steel hood in the back of the kitchen that is sucking up all that smoke? - it goes out the vent. Its stinks. Also, the vents are loud. You can hear them with the windows closed. I don't see any issue with someone who does not live near a vent wanting the restaurant to accomodate them by simply moving the vent higher.
Note: I didn't realize the vent outside my appartment was there when I moved in (saw the place in the morning when the restaurant wasn't open) so I moved on. Youth.
It doesn't necessarily
But when people are making comments like this:
Then, you can see where Whit is coming from. Come on, the cardinals and other birds are going to flee the area just because a kitchen vent is on?? What...like the birds have never been a block away where police sirens are going off and the garbage is overflowing from some dumpster out back? This is pure spiteful NIMBYism. Their alley is an "echo chamber and container of smells"? No, every alley is an echo chamber and container of smells...that's why it's called an alley.
This guy should be glad he lives in a place where the alley is more than just an old service access. 10 feet is a luxury over some alleys in the world and he's just lucky we don't still throw out our slop water into the sluice out back to run down to the street gutter.
In fact, there's more nicety and greenery in his "alley" than the entirety of most blocks in Brighton.
The South End, Beacon Hill, and Back Bay residents sometimes forget themselves because they don't live in "rowhouses", they live in "brownstones". They have "access paths" and "courtyards" instead of "alleys". They live above "boutiques" instead of "stores".
Welcome to the city. I'd gladly take your place off your hands if that kitchen duct is really gonna be such a travesty to your happy life.
Y'all live in freaking rowhouses
As are all generalizations, this one is subject to minor corrections at the edges; however,
The Entire South End Lives in Freaking Rowhouses.
A rowhouse is a dwelling unit designed by the same architect, according to the same plan, with minor variations, by the same builder, with the direction and financing of the same developer.
The South End is a series of developments built in oh-so-fashionable brick.
The fact that the buildings are a century old and more doesn't paper over the fact the South End houses are rowhouses built in developments.
There are some townhouses in the South End, considerably more in the Back Bay, but you probably aren't rich enough to live in one.
Get over it.
Jonas Prang
Yes, some people in the south end are a bit uppity...BUT
Storming into the restaurant to curse out the restaurant: not OK. Complaining about a new noise and smell issue and trying to prevent it from happening through the proper channels: definitely ok. I would expect the same in both the suburbs and in the city.
Just because he lives in the city, doesn't mean he has to give up his rights to try to preserve the nice environment that was already there. Why do city neighbors have to just sit back and let businesses do whatever the heck they want? Just because its "the city" doesn't mean city dwellers can't stand up for themselves and work with businesses to come up with a better solution. And given the success of Barbara Lynch's restaurants, she can afford a better solution. Please, she could probably make the money to pay for the upgrade in one night at the bar at the Butcher Shop.
Also, the alley that is referenced here as being "carefully tended" is not the typical "alley" that most people think of. You cannot drive cars through it. It's more of a narrow walking path. All of the neighbors that abut that entire alley have worked very hard to keep it clean and safe. It was, and is, a neighborhood effort to keep it that way. It wasn't so long ago that that same alley was filled with garbage and was a haven for drug dealers/users. It was neighbors who live there who spent their own time and effort to clean that alley. They didn't just pay someone to "make it happen." Is it wrong to try to keep it nice? Just because other alleys are nasty doesn't mean this one "has to be" because its an alley.
While I agree that gentrification has made the south end less diverse and interesting, I still live there. And, I like having clean streets, clean alleys and a pleasant place to live. Will I fight to try to keep it pleasant and safe? Heck yes and if I were in a situation like Mr Hagopian I might just do the same. I'm not just going to sit around and say "oh, well, I live in the city, I guess I have to just accept it."
Birds?
Hey, I'd love to hire whoever's building her ventilation that's going to scare off all the birds, because I've got a family of birds living perfectly happily INSIDE my exhaust fan ducting.