<< Back
Land Use, Housing & Zoning
Application (N190229 ZCM) submitted by 1700 Broadway Owner LLC, a building at 1700 Broadway Street, for a three-year permit for a third party to operate an open-air café as a permitted obstruction within an existing plaza on the property
WHEREAS, 1700 Broadway is a building within a C 6-6/C 6-7 Zoning District; and
WHEREAS, The building owned by the Applicant comprises Block 1025, Lot 25; and
WHEREAS, Since 1968, this building has provided a public plaza of 8,280 square feet, generating 82,800 square feet of bonus floor area; and
WHEREAS, The 1,656-square foot area that the Applicant is requesting to use as its Open Air Cafe comprises 20% of that privately-owned public space (POPS) that is generating a floor area bonus; and
WHEREAS, The proposed Open Air Cafe would have 58 tables with 144 chairs on the southeast edge of the public plaza, in a recess abutting two parts of the building; and
WHEREAS, The proposed Open Air Cafe will not be operated by the Applicant, but rather a yet-to-be-determined tenant of the adjoining restaurant; and
WHEREAS, The proposed Open Air Cafe will be serviced by the adjourning restaurant, with no kitchen equipment present in the cafe and no service staff crossing the portion of the Plaza fronting West 53rd Street; and
WHEREAS, The Applicant is currently under an obligation to provide to the POPS: three bicycle spaces on a sidewalk adjacent to the Plaza; lighting; three litter receptacles; four entry plaques; four information plaques; 219 linear feet of seating, including 14 if benches at planters with backs, 68.4 if benches at planters without backs, 34.5 if seating pods, and 51 movable chairs; dining table pods on Broadway and 54th Street; ten columnar european hornbeam, one japanese white birch, and four magnolia grandiflora; and
WHEREAS, The Applicant has failed to provide and maintain the amenities to the POPS as required since the Applicant’s purchase of the building in January, 2018; and
WHEREAS, The Applicant was levied a fine for failing to provide the amenities to the POPS in 2018, yet continued to not provide the obligated amenities; and
WHEREAS, Community Board Five is concerned about the troubling pattern of developers and building owners engaging in agreements to maintain POPS in exchange for bonus square footage area, but who fail to fulfill their obligations; and
WHEREAS, Community Board Five is concerned that the Applicant’s pattern of non-compliance may extend to whatever provisions are agreed upon in exchange for the right to operate an open air cafe; and
WHEREAS, Community Board Five is concerned about both the pedestrian congestion on the sidewalks of midtown, and the safeguarding of bonus-granting public space that the general public is meant to enjoy; and
WHEREAS, Community Board Five believes that open air café seating in a privately owned public place may be a public benefit only when seating and tables can be used by the public without a need for purchase of food or beverage; and
WHEREAS, Community Board Five believes that if the public ends up being unable to use the seating without purchase of food or beverage, the public costs associated with some commercial activity in this public space would outweigh any other potential public benefit associated with this Open Air Café; and
WHEREAS, If the open air cafe seating in a privately owned public space are permitted to be used by the public without a need for purchase of food or beverage, but signage is not required to make clear to the public that they can use seating and tables without need for a purchase, we do not believe the public would have any knowledge that such seating is available to them; and
WHEREAS, If the seating ends up being available for the public to use both with and without purchase, the proposed Open-Air Cafe could be a benefit; and
WHEREAS, If the agreed upon signage is NOT part of the site plan approval for the Open Air Café, Community Board Five would be very strongly object to an approval of the Open Air Café, as such an approval would constitute the privatization of public space without any benefit provided for everyday New Yorkers who do not wish to make a purchase to enjoy public space; therefore be it
RESOLVED, Community Board Five recommends denial of the application (N190229 ZCM) for an Open Air Cafe to be operated as a permitted obstruction within an existing plaza on the property UNLESS:
- The applicant agrees to make seating available for the public to use both with and without purchase; and
- Signage of adequate size and visibility is provided indicating that said seating is available for the public to use both with and without purchase, including sandwich boards and menu cards located on the tables; and
- The Applicant immediately comes into and remains in compliance with all the terms and provisions of the POPS requirements.