Amsterdam Billiards Finds New Home

After being forced out of its longtime Upper West Side location, Amsterdam Billiard Club has found a new home, in Union Square.

In December 2005, a demolition clause was initiated in the club's lease when one of the city's most active developers, the Related Companies, bought the building on Amsterdam Avenue between 76th and 77th streets that the club had occupied for 17 years, giving the club one year to relocate.

The managing partner of the club, Greg Hunt, says city zoning laws that relegate upscale billiards clubs to secondary locations, treating them as if they are smoky, beer-drenched pool halls, made it difficult to find a new home.

Mr. Hunt argues that his club is not just a run-of-the-mill pool hall. Since he opened the club in 1989 with his brother and comedian David Brenner, it has hosted about 1,000 corporate events for companies such as Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and Time Warner.

"The Amsterdam Billiard Club brought the upscale pool room back into New York City," the publisher of Billiards Digest, Mike Panozzo, said. "They are an example of how a billiards club should be run."

Even though Mr. Hunt was aware for about three years that a development was planned for the location, he said it was difficult to face the music when the demolition clause in his lease was exercised in December 2005.

"It's almost impossible to find 10,000 square feet of prime real estate in this city when you're on a budget, especially when zoning takes half of it away," Mr. Hunt said.

Shortly after the demolition clause was instituted, Mr. Hunt found a desirable location on 99th Street and Broadway, but it was restricted by city zoning.

Mr. Hunt said the city's zoning regulations are severely outdated, citing the City of New York Index of Uses, which describes what types of businesses are permitted in certain zones.

"I know its alphabetical order, but billiard parlors are followed by blacksmith shops on the list," Mr. Hunt said. "There hasn't been a blacksmith shop in the city for at least 30 years."

The city's zoning laws, last thoroughly updated in 1961, group pool halls into commercial districts with businesses such as movie theaters, bowling alleys, and ice skating rinks, according to a spokeswoman for the New York City Department of City Planning, Jennifer Torres.

Last May, when the prospect of closing down was becoming a reality, Mr. Hunt began negotiations to take over a competitor, Corner Billiards. After several months of negotiations, the sides came to terms on a deal.

"I really think we were fortunate," Mr. Hunt said. "We'll miss the Upper West Side, but this a great neighborhood and a first-floor space."

Mr. Hunt and his partners have poured about $2.5 million into their new location, at 11th Street and Fourth Avenue.

The new Amsterdam Billiard Club has had a waiting list since it opened for business on Monday, Mr. Hunt said.