BY DUSICA SUE MALESEVIC | Residents at 313 Church St. will not have to share — at least for now — their building entrance with V.I.P. clients for the speakeasy, Bandit’s Roost, which resides in the basement.
Bandit’s Roost is connected to the Church Street Tavern, a new restaurant that is situated on the ground floor of 313 Church St. Both opened in September. Residents, unhappy with the entrance arrangement and loud music, voiced their displeasure at Community Board 1’s Tribeca Committee meeting on Nov. 12.
“What really bothered us is when they started construction on the residential entryway to make a private entrance for their nightclub downstairs,” said 313 Church St. resident Terry Hirst. “What this means is that residents would have to walk by people coming and going to [get to] their own residences, people on the steps [and] bouncers.”
Jonathan Behling, the owner, was before the committee to renew the liquor license. The license is until 4 a.m. The committee had recommended granting the liquor license when famed chef Masaharu Morimoto ran Tribeca Canvas and then Bisutoro, both of which closed.
“We’ve peacefully co-existed with all the restaurants that have been there before,” said Hirst. “For 12, 15 years, there’s been restaurants down there, and this is a different story.”
Church Street Tavern has its own entrance, but owners wanted another passageway for Bandit’s Roost.
“It is helpful for certain events that we’re able to have guests access through a private entrance,” said Gerard Renny, the manager.
Renny said that they are in negotiations with the landlord for permission to use the lobby and in exchange, they would renovate the foyer.
“I would say if this was going on in my building, I would be really pissed off,” said Peter Braus, the committee’s chairperson. “I understand you guys have to make a living but suddenly to have where you enter the building turned into practically a public space where people can come and go … it’s a safety issue, a security issue.”
Another 313 Church St. resident, Richard Sullivan, said that when his wife tried to enter the foyer, she was stopped and had to identify herself to get into the building she has lived in for 30 years.
At the meeting, it became clear that the tavern had halted use of the residential lobby to get to the lounge downstairs, but planned to resume use in the future.
In addition to the entrance issue, there was also a dispute over whether the downstairs lounge was a nightclub, which residents said it was — and a loud one at that.
“If you’re doing a nightclub, that’s a change in the use,” said Jeff Ehrlich, committee member.
“There is no change of use in this space,” said Renny, who said that food is being served downstairs and it is a bar.
Marc Ameruso, a committee member, suggested approving the license for the upstairs restaurant, but not for the downstairs lounge. Braus said the committee could lodge a strong objection about the licenses to the State Liquor Authority.
But just when it seemed that Braus’ suggestion would happen, there was a twist after over 40 minutes of discussion.
Behling, the owner, spoke very little during meeting but agreed to the stipulation that the establishment would not use the entrance lobby, expect during emergencies, and that he would hire a sound engineer.
The committee passed a resolution that approved the license renewal dependent on the honoring of the stipulations.
