DOUGH, RE, MI! The Spank band jams with an accordionist at its usual spot outside Amy’s Bread, where staffers want the group gone. (Kristy Leibowitz)
Doo-wop’s dead — or at least some folks would like it to be.
West Village residents and business people want cops to permanently tune out the less-than-harmonious doo-wop singers who incessantly serenade tourists on their street corners in the summer.
“I can hear these guys right outside my window, and after 15 years, I would like to shoot them all dead,” griped Rosemary Bella, who lives on Bleecker Street.
With the warmer weather, the a cappella assault reaches a crescendo on Fridays and Saturdays at the corner of Bleecker and Leroy streets, said Bella and several other residents who sounded off on the racket at a recent Sixth Precinct community meeting.
Fed-up resident Dorothy Green compiled the number of hours, days and weekends that groups perform, and she presented the stats to police brass.
“It works out to about 700 hours of doo-wop a year — and it’s not very well sung, either,” sniffed Green, president of the Central Village Block Association.
Local businesses also are at their wits’ end with the warbling.
“A lot of people come complain to our manager. People hate them because of the noise,” said Ray Rosario, 25, an employee at Amy’s Bread, a popular neighborhood bakery on the crooners’ corner.
Trattoria Pesce Pasta down the block is also fed up.
“People keep away from the restaurant. It’s so annoying. I have to close the door when things like this are going on and the customers complain,” said Arsinio Kastrati, 40, a manager.
The members of Spank, a doo-wop group performing in the neighborhood on a recent Friday, were quick to defend their quartet.
“Bleecker Street has always been freaky to us, and by freaky, I mean great. Normally, we get a great response and a lot of business,” said tenor Herman Seay.
Residents polled by The Post, though, disagreed.
“They have a limited repertoire of songs and don’t know that many. I don’t need to hear ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight’ 14 times,” said Kat Georges, 50, who lives on Bleecker. “I used to love doo-wop, but I can’t listen to it anymore. It’s horrible.”
Deputy Inspector Brandon del Pozo, commanding officer of the Sixth Precinct, said his officers will investigate.
“It’s clear they’re decreasing people’s quality of life,” he said. “While doo-wop is not a crime, a minute or two for a fond memory for tourists is a year of aggravation for residents.”