Open-Roof Event Space Proposed for Desbrosses St.

By Matt Dunning
POSTED OCTOBER 3, 2008

“It could lead to trouble,” said Peter Braus, chairman of Community Board 1’s Tribeca Committee. Those words, summing up the feeling of the committee, were not what Cheni Yerushalmi wanted to hear.

Yerushalmi was hoping to win support for a liquor license for his proposed two-story, open-air event space called Sunshine Suites, to be built atop 12-14 Desbrosses Street in Tribeca.

The 5,200- square-foot addition would include a retractable roof and 600-square-foot stage.

Some committee members said they were wary of the big parties that they suspected would fill the space and were suspicious of the company’s stated plans.

“They want to be a nightclub,” commitee member Marc Ameruso said. “They’re trying to find another way to sneak in the back door. ”

“It’s sort of a red flag for a lot of people,” committee member Paul Sipos said after hearing the presentation.

The committee asked Yerushalmi to return on Oct. 23 with additional informtion before deciding whether to support his license.

Yerushalmi tried to assure the committee that his company, which rents office space to small businesses in that building and two others in Manhattan, would not bother the neighbors. He said the space was intended primarily for private parties and functions for the company’s tenants, but didn’t rule out the possibility of renting the space to others.

“I’m not here to cause problems, and I’m not here to do a bait and switch,” Yerushalmi said. “It really caters to our core business, which is small businesses and entrepreneurs. ”

Yerushalmi’s attorney, Warren Pesetsky, said Sunshine was not interested in opening a club or bar, and that all three spaces would rarely be occupied at the same time. Pesetsky also noted that the type of requested license, for catering only, does not permit liquor to be stored in the place or to be served to the general public.

“This is strictly an event space,” Pesetsky said, adding that the company would agree not to allow clients to bring in their own audio equipment, and would require them to use in-house security personnel when needed.

Yerushalmi said he had already hired a soundproofing engineer, and asked nearby residents to contact him with any concerns or questions.

Greenwich Street resident Elizabeth Clemants, who rents an office at Sunshine’s Tribeca location, came to the meeting to speak in favor of the company’s plans.

“I don’t want tons of people and tons of cars in the neighborhood, either, but I’m here in support [of the proposal],” Clemants said. “[Yerushalmi] isn’t trying to sneak in here and put in a nightclub.”

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