23 Wall Street: From House of Morgan to Hothouse for Entertainment
Rendering of the facade of 23 Wall Street shown to Community Board 1. Rendering by 360 Latitude photographed by The Tribeca Trib
What would J.P. have to say?
Twenty-three Wall Street, the landmark former House of Morgan at the corner of Wall and Broad, is being eyed for a glitzy 1,500-person-capacity, four-level eating, drinking and entertainment complex, with a theater-like sports bar, bowling alley, comedy club, movie theater, concert stage and more. (See video below.)
“You can come in, cheer your favorite team in the sports theater, watch your favorite movie, laugh in the comedy club, dance on the dance floor, bowl a strike, all these experiences under one roof, which you can’t get anywhere else,” said Brent Brown, the CEO of Latitude 360, Inc., a company with a string of entertainment venues.
As part of what he called his “due diligence” before formally applying for city permits, Brown previewed his proposed plans in January before a skeptical Community Board 1 Financial District Committee and an audience of neighbors from 15 Broad Street who had concerns about late-night noise, more tourists, and sanitation and traffic problems.
Mentions by Brown of celebrity events at his venues, with the likes of the Seattle Seahawks Cliff Avril, “Talk Dirty” recording artist Jason Derulo and the Indianapolis Colts cheerleaders, did nothing to soothe worries.
“We have a quiet little neighborhood and we like it that way,” said committee member and 15 Broad Street condo board member Linda Gerstman. “Garbage. Major, major problem. I don’t know what the heck your plan is but adding to what we have right now is not going to fly. Vermin…Rats, bugs, things like that. We don’t want them.”
Some also argued that the venue does not fit the “character” of residential Fidi. But Brown disagreed, saying that other than some nice restaurants, there was little to do in the area.
“People moving down here want it here,” he said.
“What?” shot back 15 Broad Street resident Lynne Seid. “This is multi-million-dollar apartments that are being sold there. This is not just people that go to Cheesecake Factory!”
Brown said that he anticipates returning to the committee this month for advisory approval of his liquor license. The committee’s chair, Ro Sheffe, advised him to give it some more thought.
“Try to imagine a suburban residential neighborhood with this in the middle of it,” Sheffe said, “and you’re living next door.”
The establishment’s liquor license application does not appear on the committee’s agenda for February.
Below: A portion of video shown to Community Board 1's Financial District Committee as recorded at the meeting by The Tribeca Trib. Speaking to the committee is Brent Brown, CEO of Latitude 360.