Lit Will Eventually Be An East Village Monastery

Someone needs to light Lit another fuse. The increasingly sedate East Village rock lounge first clamped down on its well-known cigarette tolerance after a secrets ops health department investigation. Now, the DJ and live music venue is turning down the volume to appease the neighbors. -

EV Grieve snapped a shot of a flier circulated by the East Fifth Street Block Association to Lit's business neighbors urging them to note any excessive noise coming from the grunge pit:

"Neighborhood block associations have met with the owners/operators of Lit Lounge, and they have agreed to hire a certified sound engineer to measure, verify and set the sound level in accordance to the noise that neighboring tenants experience...If you are experiencing noise from Lit please call ASAP."

It's an interesting tactic. A bar and club's residential neighbors often band together to fight against pesky smoke, drugs, noise and traffic generators (see: Beatrice Inn, Jane). But you don't often see an emphasis on outreach to other businesses that might be affected. Perhaps the fact that Lit's neighbors include other clubs (Sin Sin, Kabin) and late night restaurants (Frank, Moonstruck) has something to do with it.

Actually, a thinly-veiled threat confirms it:

"Your cooperation will not just help yourself, but future tenants who will come in your wake."

"In your wake." Absolutely chilling, right?

Meanwhile, no word on the taming of Lit's notoriously debauched bathrooms, where even incensed neighbors may not dare to tread.

Photo via Lea Golis/NYMag