Tribeca Neighbors Protest Plan for Another Nearby Event Venue
In a photo taken in 2012 by a resident across the street at 195 Hudson St., a crowd gathers for an event at Tribeca Rooftop.
A building in northern Tribeca that already houses two catering spaces could soon be home to a third event space, a prospect that some nearby neighbors are calling nothing short of a “nightmare.”
The first floor of the building, at 205 Hudson St., corner of Desbrosses Street, most recently housed the now-shuttered restaurant American Flatbread. Owner William Reilly wants to use that ground floor for an event space that can accommodate 400 people, according to his application to the State Liquor Authority. The application also calls for outdoor seating for 28 people.
The license would allow the space to open Sunday through Thursday at 7 a.m. and close at 2 a.m., with bar service beginning at 10 a.m. On Friday and Saturday it could open at 10 a.m. with a 3 a.m. closing.
When Rosa Sanchez, a representative for Reilly, told the plans to Community Board 1’s Tribeca Committee last month for advisory approval, she got an earful from several residents who said the area around 205 Hudson has been disrupted enough by Reilly’s two existing venues, Tribeca Rooftop and Three Sixty.
“People come out loud and drunk and they all come out at once,” said Bruce Bromley, who lives at 181 Hudson St. “They wake people up and now we’re going to have more on the first floor?”
“How are they going to soundproof the windows, with the sound of DJs and parties and whatever?” asked another resident who did not want her name used.
“Besides, the same building will have three catering spaces in this tiny little street that is mainly residential.”
Sanchez tried to assure the neighbors that Reilly, who did not attend the meeting, will try to prevent problems.
“He’s never going to put the dance floor on the Desbrosses Street side,” she said. “The dance floor will always be either in the middle or towards the back and maybe towards the front entrance.”
Although the legal capacity of the space is 400, Sanchez told the committee that no more than 220 people would be using it. And as Reilly has done in the past, Sanchez noted, he will hire private security to prevent guests from congregating outside the building.
But it’s not only noisy patrons that neighbors are concerned about. In the past, the other two catering spaces have created traffic tie-ups and the new venue will make problems worse, they insisted.
“We had an emergency with one of my children and the ambulance couldn’t come through Desbrosses,” said James Montague, who lives at 195 Hudson.
“There is no place to accommodate all the car traffic for the space,” added Mary Hoeveler, a resident of 463 Greenwich St.
Lewis Taffer, who lives at 195 Hudson St., later said in a phone interview that the congestion on Desbrosses Street can begin early in the morning when trucks make deliveries for an evening event. And trucks collecting the trash from the two event spaces create additional congestion, he added.
Seeing little chance of approval from the committee, Sanchez said she would delay filing for the catering license and return to the committee this month.
“That way we can work everything out and discuss everything,” she said.
According to the Tribeca Committee’s April agenda, however, they will not be appearing. And in any event, neighbors are skeptical that a satisfactory resolution is possible.
“The notion of adding a third one and not inconveniencing people here is an insult to intelligence,” Taffer said.
Contacted by phone, Reilly declined to comment.