Landlord Accuses FiDi Tenant of the Ultimate Side Hustle
The residential skyscraper at Eight Spruce Street, which the private equity landlord alleges that a tenant is operating a secret (and illegal) restaurant on the 75th floor.
A Financial District landlord is accusing a tenant of operating a high-end speakeasy from his 75th-floor apartment. In a story first reported by Crain’s New York, the owners of Eight Spruce Street (the giant private equity firm Blackstone Inc., which bought the skyscraper last year for $930 million) are suing tenant Carlos Eduardo Gasperi, who has leased apartment 75H in the building since April of this year, for “using the apartment as a restaurant in contravention to the lease and applicable laws.”
As detailed in legal briefs filed with the New York State Supreme Court, “on or about June 14, 2022, plaintiff became aware that defendant was using the apartment as a restaurant under the name Maison Sun.”
The website for Maison Sun explains, “our locations are chosen in the interest of architectural distinction and refined interior design. We are currently seating in two secret locations: a cozy townhouse in the heart of Soho and a luxury high-rise with sweeping views of the East River, Brooklyn Bridge and the Eastern horizon… Expect the location of your dinner to be revealed to you at approximately 1pm on the day of your reservation, via text message.” The website also notes that “the cost of our experience is $365 including beverage pairings, service & sales taxes.”
In an interview with the online hospitality newsletter, Tock, Mr. Gasperi recalled devising during the COVID pandemic the business model for a pop-up restaurant that rotated among multiple, undisclosed venues, saying, “as an entrepreneur, I must admit I benefited from a perfect storm of two extraordinarily unusual circumstances. First, several hundred furnished luxury residences throughout New York City were simultaneously unoccupied for months. Real estate agents and property owners alike welcomed the opportunity of free marketing and cost-effective revenue with few strings attached.”
Court documents filed by Blackstone allege that “on or about July 1, 2022, an agent of plaintiff met with the defendant to discuss this matter and the defendant admitted that he was operating the restaurant in the apartment.” The next day, according to the legal brief, “plaintiff received a response from defendant’s counsel advising plaintiff that defendant was allowed to have ‘guests’ in the apartment at any time.”
Blackstone also argues that “other tenants in the building have complained about the noise emanating from the apartment and the number of non-tenants that are continually moving throughout the building. Additionally, there has been complaints of smoke and foul odors emanating from the apartment and the trash room being left filthy and in disarray after each of the restaurant’s events,” and that, “on September 15, 2022 there was an incident where customers of the defendant were loud and drunk in the common hallway of the building.”
The suit seeks a court order permanently barring Mr. Gasperi from operating a restaurant at the apartment he leases in Eight Spruce Street, along with financial damages to be determined at trial. (A separate court action also seeks to evict him from the building.)
Neither Blackstone nor Mr. Gasperi responded to a request for comment.
Matthew Fenton
From the Shelter to the Dorm
Trinity Boosts Support for Downtown’s Hometown College
Trinity Church, the Episcopal parish in Lower Manhattan, is doubling down on an earlier contribution to Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC), located on Chambers Street, that was tailored to offer housing to homeless students enrolled at the school. The original $2-million grant, allocated last December, was earmarked to construct a residential facility near the campus that will provide shelter to up to 40 students for as long three years. That dormitory is expected to be open by next spring. Read more…
Fine Line Between ‘Discerning’ and ‘Discriminating’
Equity Remains Elusive at the Crown Jewel of City’s Public High Schools
New data from this year’s specialized high school admissions cycle is sparking continued debate over racial diversity at Stuyvesant High School, the top public specialized high school in New York City. Long-considered a top-ten school in the nation, Stuyvesant has become the center of an ongoing debate about the fairness of its admissions. Read more…
Running the Good Race
Annual Run Through Battery Tunnel Honors Memory of Fallen Hero
The annual Tunnel to Towers 5K Run & Walk will bring more than 30,000 joggers through the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel on Sunday, September 25, guiding the multitude into Battery Park City and toward the finish line on West Street, between Warren and Murray Streets. There will also be a street fair on Vesey Street, between West Street and North End Avenue, immediately following the race. Read more…
This tour brings top-ranked equestrian jumping teams from around the world to compete on Governors Island. The exhibition village includes shops and food and beverage options, and public seating for visitors to see horses and their riders compete for the top spot. Through September 25. Free; reservations required.
Tour the historic, steel-hulled, three-masted, full-rigged vessel visiting from Denmark. The ship’s visit during UN Climate Week aims to inspire dialogue about climate solutions. The ship sails for the Azores on September 25. Free.
Hear performers and educators discuss the roots and current practice of Spain’s influential art form: flamenco dance. See a performance of a Federico García Lorca/Camarón de la Isla piece. Watch the documentary film Gurumbé exploring the contribution of Afro-Andalusians to the art of flamenco. 10am–12:30pm, live music and dance panel; 3:30pm–5pm, Gurumbé documentary screening. Free. Reservations required.
Capture the vistas of the Hudson River and the landscape of South Cove. An educator will help participants of all levels with instruction. Materials provided.
Mid-autumn is one of the most important festivals in China, when families gather under the full-moon and display lanterns to symbolically illuminate the path to success for the rest of the year. Join our celebration on September 24th with music, art, sugar paintings, interactive activities and much more! $10.
On a guided walk in Battery Park City, observe and draw the trees to understand how they are like skyscrapers. Learn about how trunks and branches support their leaves or needles and how roots create strong foundations. All ages welcome. Free.
For centuries, schooners carrying goods down the Hudson River from upstate docked at South Street Seaport, to distribute their cargo to local markets or to transfer their cargo onto ocean-bound ships to more distant destinations. This trade, and the industries it supported, from banking to warehousing to printing, helped make New York City into a global commercial and then cultural capital. Apollonia is the Hudson Valley’s carbon-neutral, wind-powered merchant vessel that harkens back to these earlier times. Pick up your box of upstate goods or just come and chat with the crew.
Tour the historic, steel-hulled, three-masted full-rigged vessel used to train young people for careers at sea. The ship sails for the Azores on September 25.
This workshop will cover techniques for harvesting and storing flowers, and explore design approaches to making bouquets and arrangements. For ages 13 and up. RSVP is required. Free.
Monoprinting is a type of printmaking where the goal is to create one unique image. Presented by the West Harlem Art Fund and led by artist Red Sagalow. All materials will be provided; no prior experience necessary. $20.
Lecture in Chinese, sponsored by the China Institute, about the first wave of the Chinese youth who came to study in the U.S. On August 11, 1872, 30 Chinese government-sponsored students departed from Shanghai for the U.S.
What is missing from the equation is the fact that the student must ask to be admitted to Stuyvesant (and the other specialized high schools) by ranking his or her choices. Stuyvesant does not choose any students who have not ranked it as the top choice. Without knowing how many Black and LatinX students rank Stuyvesant, the numbers about admissions mean nothing.
Very little mention is ever given to the team managing the finish line at the annual Tunnel to Towers run. We are all from various CERT teams, though for years it was mainly the Tribeca CERT team members who got to Warren and West Streets at 8am, dragged the then-wooden crowd barriers in place, spent hours keeping parents, kids, bike riders, etc in place (no easy task), while hordes of runners passed. It is also our job to spot the first male and female runner, first wounded warriors, and alert the people at the actual finish line on West Street. I’ve done this as Team Chief for over 10 years and this is my final one. I love what the
Siller family and its foundation do, but at 77 I need to be a cheerleader not the chief.
Jean Grillo
Lower Manhattan Greenmarkets
Tribeca Greenmarket
Greenwich Street & Chambers Street
Wednesdays and Saturdays, 8am-3pm (compost program: Saturdays, 8am-1pm)
Bowling Green Greenmarket
Broadway & Whitehall St
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8am-5pm (compost program: 8am-11am)
World Trade Center Oculus Greenmarket
Tuesdays, 8am-5pm
The Outdoor Fulton Stall Market
91 South Street, between Fulton & John Streets
Indoor market: Monday through Saturday,11:30am-5pm
CSA pick-up: Thursday, 4pm-6pm; Friday, 11:30-5pm
Outdoor market: Saturdays, 11:30am-5pm
Today in History
September 23
This is Louise Nevelson Plaza, a triangular park at the east end of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, bounded by William Street, Liberty Street and Maiden Lane. It features giant sculptures by the artist Louise Nevelson, who was born on this day in 1899.
1338 – The Battle of Arnemuiden was the first naval battle of the Hundred Years’ War and the first naval battle using gunpowder artillery.
1641 – The Merchant Royal, carrying a treasure of over 100,000 pounds of gold is lost at sea off Land’s End.
1780 – In the American Revolution, British Major John Andre is arrested as a spy by American soldiers exposing Benedict Arnold’s change of sides.
1806 – Lewis and Clark return to St. Louis after exploring the Pacific Northwest of the United States.
1846 – Astronomers Urbain Jean Joseph Le Verrier, John Couch Adams and Johann Gottfried Galle collaborate on the discovery of Neptune.
1962 – Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts opens in New York City.
2004 – Over 3,000 people die in Haiti after Hurricane Jeanne produces massive flooding and mudslides.
2018 – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi launches Modicare, free heathcare for 500 million, world’s biggest healthcare program
2021 – Fossilized footprints 23,000-21,000 years old from New Mexico indicate settlement by humans of North and South America earlier than previous thought
2021 – Biden administration and EPA introduce regulation against greenhouse gases, reduction of hydrofluorocarbons by 85% in 15 years.
Births
480 BC – Euripides, playwright, born in Salamis, Greece (d. 406 BC)
1215 – Kublai Khan, Mongolian emperor (d. 1294)
1889 – Walter Lippmann, journalist, publisher, co-founded The New Republic (d. 1974)
1899 – Louise Nevelson, sculptor (d. 1988)
1926 – John Coltrane, saxophonist and composer (d. 1967)
1930 – Ray Charles, singer-songwriter, pianist, and actor (d. 2004)
1949 – Bruce Springsteen, singer-songwriter and guitarist
1985 – Hasan Minhaj, American stand-up comedian
Deaths
1508 – Beatrice of Naples, queen consort of Hungary (b. 1457)
1939 – Sigmund Freud, neurologist and psychiatrist (b. 1856)
1987 – Bob Fosse, actor, dancer, choreographer, and director (b. 1927)
