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On Thursday, February 19, Jennifer Savica, vice president of events management for TD Bank, got a worried call from a member of her production team, who couldn't get into the Sports Museum of America for the final walkthrough of the space. The next day, when the downtown site announced it would be closing for good, Savica had to scramble to find a new spot for the March 7 incentive meeting and award function she'd spent more than six months planning.

With the slew of closures prompted by the recession, this scenario may end up being more common. Already this year, B.R. Guest Restaurants shuttered Ruby Foo's on the Upper West Side and Fiamma in SoHo, Times Square's Spotlight Live closed, and by August, the Cipriani Group will cease operations at the Rainbow Room. Now a growing concern for event hosts is whether the venues they've booked will survive—at least until after the events. MORE >>

Venue Troubles

VENUE NEWS 04.01.08 5:18 PM

MSG Renovation Likely to Stall Moynihan Development

Last week the owners of Madison Square Garden made a surprising announcement: Rather than build a new arena a block away as previously planned, they will renovate their current site. According to an article in the Observer on Thursday, this jeopardizes the development of Moynihan Station—the grand plan for a new and improved Penn Station, which includes expanding into the existing sports facility as well as extending westward into the James Farley Post Office.

Whether the plan for Moynihan Station will stall like the expansion of Javits remains to be seen: In a piece posted yesterday, the Daily News reported that “more than $20 billion worth of high-profile developments across the city ... are dead or at risk of never getting off the drawing board,” and examines the delays hindering projects including the Fulton Street Transit Center, the Atlantic Yards, and Coney Island.

Moynihan Station, Venue Troubles

VENUE NEWS 10.30.07 10:28 AM

Neighbors Still Fighting Rose Group Over Church Space

Yesterday afternoon we learned that the Rose Group-managed 583 Park Avenue—operating as an event space for the likes of Oscar de la Renta and New Yorkers for Children—is still having disputes with its neighbors. While the Upper East Side church has been available for events for a few months, the Department of Buildings sent out a letter yesterday stating that the commissioner of buildings may revoke approvals and permits previously granted based on complaints made by neighboring buildings.

This doesn't mean that planned events will be canceled or that the permits have officially been revoked. What it does mean is that there are certain issues that need to be addressed, and the Rose Group has every opportunity to do so while operating under temporary place-of-assembly permits for events that have already been booked. MORE >>

Venue Troubles

VENUE NEWS 07.16.07 6:59 PM

Are the Rose Group's Church Renovation Problems Ending?

When we last checked, the Rose Group was facing criticism from a local community board over the planned renovations of the Third Church of Christ Scientist, and it seemed the plans would fall through, especially since the board was asking the State Liquor Authority and the Department of Buildings to step in and reject permit applications. But on Sunday, The New York Times published a story noting that the Rose Group has been acquiring temporary permits to host events at the Upper East Side church (expecting more events to take place in the fall) and that the board's chairman is hopeful for a compromise. If some sort of understanding is reached, the Georgian-style building will be preserved (apparently part of the renovation plan is to fix a leaky roof) and planners will have a new site to book for events. Stay tuned. —Anna Sekula

Venue Troubles

VENUE NEWS 05.09.07 12:00 AM

Trump Gets Green Light, Ruffles Feathers (Again)

It comes as no surprise that Donald Trump has sparked more controversy with his latest project—a 45-story hotel-condo to be built in SoHo. Yesterday, the real estate mogul won approval from the Department of Buildings to construct what neighborhood activists are calling a ruse that would enable Trump to develop residential, non-hotel units in a zoned area that prohibits such. Opponents to the project are certainly being vocal, with comments from various officials and community groups that are likely to cause more than a few headaches (and possibly some legal troubles) for Trump.

Venue Troubles

VENUE NEWS 05.02.07 12:00 AM

Finance Firms Snubbing Times Square Joint

According to Page Six, some of the larger financial firms are refusing to foot the bill for executives who take clients to lunch at Hawaiian Tropic Zone, the eight-month-old restaurant in Times Square. The reason? The environment—or more specifically, the female waitstaff in skin-baring sarongs and bikini tops—is too risqué and too similar to a strip club. In response, owner Dennis Riese told The Post that the eatery is “a totally misunderstood restaurant.”

Venue Troubles

VENUE NEWS 03.22.07 12:00 AM

Plans for Church as Party Space Turn Awry

The New York Sun reported today that the Rose Group has encountered some neighborhood opposition to its plans to rent out the Third Church of Christ Scientist for events. (That's the company owned by Herbert Rose and sons John and Louis, of course, which previously managed Cipriani 42nd Street and Capitale and currently operates the newly revamped Guastavino’s.) The space hosted a J.C. Penney event in January, but it seems that Community Board 8 on the Upper East Side is not so keen on the noise, traffic, and security problems events might bring and is looking to revoke the liquor license and Department of Buildings permit.

Venue Troubles

TED KRUCKEL 09.27.06 12:00 AM

Where, Oh, Where Will Fashion Week Go?

I guess I was supposed to write something sooner about Fashion Week. But the NYC style carnival, like the Hamptons, isn’t really hot anymore, is it? I went to a few shows/parties, most fine but boring, although glimpsing Liza Minelli swaying atop tiny black shoes in a giant purple cape had almost everyone gasping. She looked like a human hot air balloon.

One event I attended was excitingly bad, and thus restored my faith in the need for this column: Marie Claire sold old bras in an ugly, depressing benefit exhibit titled “BraArt: Bras for a Cause,” which I was fascinated by. Sponsored by Barely There bras and Bacardi Limon, this remarkably ill-conceived event began with reader donations, in this case, old bras mailed in to the new Hearst castle. That’s right, readers sent in 500 used brassieres. (I did not see Madame Paulette as a co-sponsor, which begs a question…) These repurposed bras were then turned over to artists (none you ever heard of, guess why?), who then converted them into BraArt. Most were used in uninteresting photos. There were bras made into chandeliers that were clever and nonoffensive, but hung too high to really look at. But most excitingly, they tied the remainder of old, used bras, daisy-chain style, around the columns for decor. Also, no air-conditioning. MORE >>

Fashion Week, Venue Troubles

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