Hudson Clearwater’s back area. (Matthew McDermott)
A self-styled “speakeasy” on a quiet corner in the West Village is making life miserable for its neighbors, with tipsy revelers knocking on residents’ doors all night long trying to find the unmarked establishment.
Hudson Clearwater, at Hudson and Morton streets, has no sign, and closes the curtains and locks its front door at night, when hard-partying patrons come and go through an unmarked side door, according to legal papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court seeking to force the State Liquor Authority to yank the bar’s license.
“Clearwater’s speakeasy gimmick has attracted a significant late-night crowd to its establishment,” according to the papers, filed by Robert Ely, a lawyer and Community Board 2 member.
“People always knock on my door looking for the place,” Ely told The Post.
CB2 backed the bar’s liquor-license application, but with tight stipulations intended to address neighbors’ concerns.
But local residents like Mike Duffy, 47, say the problems persist.
“When I’m outside having a cigarette, people come to the door and think it’s Clearwater. It’s probably happened 15 to 20 times,” he said.
Co-owners Mark Barboni and Matt Hechter denied they were trying to re-create a speakeasy.