In case u missed it, Alefantis emphatically stated for the record yesterday on the Kojo Mnambi radio show that Comet Ping Pong DOES NOT HAVE A BASEMENT.
https://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2016-11-30/pizza-propaganda-the-local-fallout-from-fake-news
Now, this is problematic because it contradicts all the available evidence we currently have. Including James Alefantis hinself talking about canning 10 tons of tomatoes at Comet and storing them in said basement. Which can be found here in this Metro Weekly article.
http://www.metroweekly.com/2015/04/from-scratch-james-alefantis/
In addition to his own words previously confirming the existence of a basement, we also have this book, Boutique Restaurants, which documents the interior of Comet Ping Pong. The only available images are too low of a resolution to make out the description. However, the space depicted is able to be assumed to be a basement area of the building. (Cant find the link to the book right now, i have screenshots on my twitter tho)
Another puzzling piece of information is the listing of Comet, 5037 Connecticut Ave. on propertyshark has the stories of the building listed as '2'.
http://www.propertyshark.com/mason/Property/11881126/5037-Connecticut-Ave-NW-Washington-DC-20008/
Other supporting evidence is a confirmed basement level in a neighboring business, Politics and Prose. Across the street there is Joe's Basement Bar, so we know buildings in the immediate vicinity have basements.
Fox News biggest argument in favor of "debunking Pizzagate" was the statement of fact that "Comet Ping Pong does not have a basement"
I'll leave it to the greater community to interpret the implications of these findings published above.
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oldskeptic ago
Earlier pics of the Comet's interior had the open kitchen located on the left side, to the rear of the building.
The recent undercover video shows the kitchen now located on the right wall, a bit more towards the front, and enclosed. Anybody else see this?
It would be very expensive to relocate an entire commercial kitchen if it was over a slab floor. Prohibitively expensive. Maybe Alefantis is playing word games again, something he's quite skilled in. Could it be more of a crawl space, just not generous enough in height to qualify as basement?
crazimal ago
since they did move kitchen and documented it on instagram, trenching the slab for drains etc., it obviously was not cost prohibitive, and it's not that unusual a remodel job. DIY and avoiding permitting vastly reduce the cost, as documented.
it's curious though that: 1. "no basement" 2. kitchen moved 3. slab disturbed 4. owns business 2 doors down WITH basement 5. massive pizza oven built in new kitchen -what's under the oven, stays under the oven.
Sure, there could be a laboriously concealed secret tunnel, secret basement, graves, portal to hades, etc under comet. Or he could be storing stuff in the other place with a basement, or at the farm where the tomatoes come from. Or he could be typical bullshitter getting cans of tomatoes off a truck from Jersey every week (ie a typical restaurant guy) and blowing farm-to-table smoke up the interviewer's ass. At 4oz per pie and 60 pies a day X 350 days/year he could use 3 tons of tomatoes in a year.
Despite the "what-if's," me the whole basement tangent may be irrelevant to the key issues: suspicion of money laundering and child exploitation/abuse. Red herring?
But seriously, what is under the pizza oven? It could weigh several tons depending on how it's built...