Special Law Passed to Exempt '5-Star' Eatery from Liquor Ban
Proposed look for 195 Broadway lobby with a restaurant and bar. Rendering: Gabellini Sheppard Associates
Amid soaring Doric columns and beneath the bronze-and-alabaster chandeliers of the magnificent lobby of 195 Broadway, drinks will be served.
But only thanks to a last-minute act of the New York State Legislature.
Stymied by a state rule that forbids selling alcohol within 200 feet of a house of worship—and therefore blocking a fine-dining restaurant from renting the space—the landlords of the former AT&T building have sought and won an exemption to the law for their location. The new law, yet to be signed by the governor, was passed last month in the waning days of the legislative session.
Both the building and its lobby are designated landmarks, directly across Fulton Street from St. Paul’s Chapel.
A plan for the interior, to include retail and dining, was passed by the Landmarks Preservation Commission more than three years ago. But the space has remained empty. In fact, the building’s lobby has been largely vacant since 1983, when AT&T moved uptown.
L&L Holding Co. bought 195 Broadway in 2004 and has since sold a majority interest. But it manages and leases the building and says it wants a “high-end” restaurant in the space, something it insists Downtown is lacking
“Our issue is we have a big vacancy and there’s no place to go if you’re a Condé Nast or a HarperCollins,” Simon Wasserberger of L&L Holdings told Community Board 1’s Financial District Committee last month. “No place for client lunches or dinners near enough to us.”
Already having gained the backing of the Downtown Alliance, Wasserberger and his team were at the committee to ask for a letter directed to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver that would show community support for the law. (Sen. Daniel Squadron sponsored it in the state Senate.) The community board letter, already drafted, argued that Lower Manhattan “suffers from a paucity of high-end destination restaurants, which are critical to the area’s Post 9/11-Post Hurricane Sandy renaissance.” It went on to say that the community at large would benefit “tremendously” from having a five-star restaurant.
The CB1 committee had no problem with sending the letter to Silver, but later several members at the full board did, saying at their monthly meeting that the issue should have been vetted by the whole board.
Board member John Fratta said the support for 195 Broadway could set a precedent for other establishments seeking an exemption to the law. “Will this come back to bite us?” he asked.
“It should go to the board,” Joe Lerner argued. “That lobby is one of the most beautiful lobbies in Downtown.”
CB1 District Manager Noah Pfefferblit responded that the restaurant’s liquor application would need to be reviewed by the board. And Financial District Committee Chairman Ro Sheffe said a liquor license there would do no harm.
“It’s a five-star restaurant in a non-residential area. It’s totally commercial,” he said. “We didn’t see anything wrong with that.”
According to Pfefferblit, Trinity Church supports the legislation. Trinity officials would not respond to a request for comment and Wasserberger of L&L Holdings said he would not comment for this story.