A tony Upper East Side art gallery is pushing the city for a permit that could potentially turn it into a hot spot that would put Studio 54 to shame.
The Frick Collection has filed an application to open 17 new bars and hold events that could last until 4 a.m. — a proposal that angry neighbors say would transform the 88-year-old facility near Central Park on East 70th Street into a modern “high”-class party space. “
The Frick’s liquor license application obtained by The Post even says all 14 floors — possibly even some of the conservation area of the former estate of American entrepreneur Henry Clay Frick — will be open for all-night events with no capacity limit.
And while the gallery claims they don’t actually plan to open that many bars in their nearly 200,000-square-foot building, concerned nearby residents aren’t so sure and want the proposal radically toned down.
“There is no museum in New York City that has a party until 2 a.m.,” a source at Manhattan Community Board 8 told The Post.
“And the notion that they want to turn The Frick into a catering hall with appropriate events all the time is crazy.”
The Frick Collection has filed a liquor license application asking for up to 17 bars on all 14 floors. Getty Images
Members of the East 70th Street Block Association have now written to the Community Board asking that the art gallery agree to several stipulations, including opening only five liquor bars at a time, implementing a 400-person capacity for the gathering area as well as a 9 p.m. event time.
Until they can reach an agreement, the East 70th Street Block Association said The Frick’s liquor application should either be denied or withdrawn by the museum.
“It is difficult to fathom how many participants would warrant 17 bars serving liquor with 204 linear feet of bartenders,” East 70th Street Block Association attorney and former Upper East Side City Councilman Ben Kallos said in a letter obtained by the Post.
“The Block Association was shocked,” he added.
The Upper East Side art museum is undergoing a $160 million renovation and expansion project. Selldorf Architects
The letter goes on to say that the community group “supports The Frick Collection’s educational mission and The Frick Collection’s need to expand space devoted to educational activities.”
“However, the Block Association representing the residential community opposes making The Frick Collection a high-class party space.”
But representatives for The Frick have so far insisted that nothing about its operations will change under the proposal when it reopens after a $160 million renovation and expansion project is completed late next year.
“The Frick will program its space as it has done before, with a focus on art,” a museum spokesperson told The Post.
Under its liquor license application, all 14 floors of the museum can be used as event space. Selldorf Architects A spokesperson for the museum stressed that The Frick will still use its space primarily for its art collection. Selldorf Architects
“With the completion of the renovation and improvement project, the Frick will have a small restaurant on the second floor of its reception hall. This application is structured to accommodate restaurants and events at the Frick, in line with our previous and current operations.
“We continue to have clarifying conversations with our neighbors about this plan.”
Attorney Jonathan Bing also claimed that the “primary purpose of this application” is for a new restaurant on the site.
“There will be a limited number of events in the building, as there always have been, probably since 1934,” Bing, a former state Assemblyman, told Patch.
In fact, the application obtained by The Post states that it is for a new restaurant on the site.
It also said, however, that the proposed premises would be located on all 14 floors of the museum and proposed liquor service throughout the space for special events.
Jonathan Bing, an attorney representing the museum, said it will not hold more or larger events than in years past. Getty Images
Kallos — who once served as Bing’s chief of staff — thinks that’s too much.
“If it was for a 900-square-foot restaurant, we wouldn’t be here,” he told Patch. “It’s for 11 stories in some places, 14 stories in others.”
Bing said Kallos’ comments that he “didn’t follow the rules… hurt me personally.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
