Good Night Mr. Lewis Turns One at BlackBook

My wonderful editor informed me that today's entry falls on the anniversary of my first BlackBook post. I surely need to thank everyone there for their patience and support. Two wives will verify that I can sometimes be difficult to deal with, but BlackBook has been berry berry good to me. Ironically there are behind-the-scenes negotiations going on which will result in my content being posted again on Joonbug as well as here. Good Night Mr. Lewis enjoyed its first eight months at Joonbug; I left not because of bad relations but because I felt I needed to be associated with the BlackBook brand, with which I have enjoyed a decade-long relationship. Writing about things I see and hear started as a hobby -- or maybe a fetish -- but has now captivated me.

There have been many great moments for me in the last year, but I particularly enjoyed a phone call from André Balazs’s rep Howard Schaefer the day after I broke a wildly picked-up story about drink prices, hosts, seatings, and such at talk of the town Boom Boom Room. I received my inside info from a significant but secret source; I had asked my assistant to arrange for a chat with Howard that very morning because I felt guilty about getting inside info from my significant source when Howard and I are no strangers. We’re about the same age, and he grew up a few blocks from me out in Jackson Heights, queens. At one point in a twist of coincidences I found out my Jersey-bred wife was best friends with his girlfriend out there in mainstream America. He now lives two blocks from me.

So Howard beat me to the punch with a call. Our conversation was about how he knew that I wouldn’t tell him my significant source, but he wanted a few clues. I asked if I had called him directly if he would have told me any of the stuff I found out, and he laughed and told me, “Of course not.” I was directed to publicist Nadine Johnson for future queries. He mumbled he needed to “close those leaks.” I contacted my significant source again, who would no longer speak to me. So I asked the significant other of my significant source what was up and was told an internal memo had been circulated warning the staff not to talk to people like me or face termination. Another significant source inside the now-gagged organization says they believe “the Boom Boom Room will be the most significant space in the last 15 years.” They continued, “It will bring everything to another level ... André gets it ... he is on top of his game.” Blogging is still fun!

Word comes that man about Nolita, Soho, and virtually every hot spot in town Maurice Capli and two partners (who will remain anonymous at this time) will open a new lounge at 100 7th Avenue at Bleecker. The place will hold around 300 people and is located in the old Actors Playhouse space, which is a flight (or two) below street level. I see Maurice every time I go to La Esquina, so he most surely feels comfortable with a basement location. Maurice is my main contact with Cordell Lochin, who will rejoin the living in May. Maurice’s partner is a major door presence but is currently employed at a major door, and there is real fear he would be shown the door if his name was revealed here. With a little bit of luck, construction will start mid-October, and a Christmas /New Year’s opening is hoped for.

I have had a weird week, with my highs being Everesty and my lows abysmal, yet I never wanted to embrace that flatline in any other way. It would indeed be a sort of death by inches for me. I watched the tallest man in the world on the street the other day. He indeed was a peak, much larger than can be imagined from a photo. He could only move in inches aided by crutches. I felt bad for the big guy. I read that he lamented he had no woman and that he hoped fame might bring him one. I wanted to take Ukrainian-born Leonid Stadnyk to a club and help him meet a gal and bring him over to a table of ballers so they could experience what I do when they stand near me. At 8 foot 5 inches, he’s a full 1 foot 4 inches taller than Shaq and 17 inches taller than the average nightclub door.

I went out to celebrate my year but found out the Jane was closed because they were shooting Wall Street 2 there. I headed to subMercer to visit my DJ friend Jennifly, only to find out she was hosting and had left the DJ duties to m0ma, who was grand. “We’re going to have a funky good time,” was a defining moment; the party is called “Collective Music Maestro ... Please” and is hosted by the NY-LON team of Jennifly and Vincent. NY-LON stands for “New York-London.” They’re trying to produce “a full on London underground feel and at the same time bring New York nightlife to what it was back in the day.” I asked her if she was around in New York back in the day, and her laugh said no, but she absolutely gets it as does Vincent. DJ m0ma offered “everything from jazz to disco to 80s boogie, funk, electro, and rare grove dope.” The reopening of these subMercer Wednesday soirees is yet another reason to be cheerful this club season. Oh—and André Balazs owns this one as well.