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Land Use, Housing & Zoning

June 2020, Land Use, Housing & Zoning Committee

Application to renew a three-year permit for the continued operation of the open air cafe within the privately-owned public space (POPS) located at 12 East 49th Street

Re:       Application by Kato International LLC, to renew a three-year permit for the continued operation of a 567 square foot open air café located within an existing 4,790 square foot, publicly accessible privately-owned public space (POPS) located at 12 East 49th Street, in Manhattan Community Board Five, for another three years pursuant to ZR 37-73

At the regularly scheduled monthly Community Board Five meeting on Thursday, June 11, 2020, the following resolution passed with a vote of 44 in favor; 0 opposed; 1 abstaining:

WHEREAS, 12 East 49th Street is located within a C5-2.5 and a C5-3 Zoning District within the Special Midtown District, within Manhattan CB5; and

WHEREAS, 12 East 49th Street, is a 45-story commercial office building of approximately 598,088 square feet of floor area, (23.9 FAR), located on Block 1284, Lots 6, 7, 12 and 13, a through block lot bounded by 5th Avenue and Madison Avenue, with 124 feet of frontage on East 48th  Street and 125 feet of frontage on East 49th Street, improved with two privately owned public plazas, a 1,597 square foot North Plaza located along East 49th Street and a 4,790 square foot South Plaza located along East 48th Street; and

WHEREAS, The North Plaza contains a 1,635 square foot arcade and the South Plaza contains a 2,144 square foot arcade and a 567 square foot open air café; and

WHEREAS, The ground floor of 12 East 49th Street consists of a public passage between the North and South Plaza, the building lobby and a Use Group 6 eating and drinking establishment, which is also associated with the open air café located in the South Plaza; and

WHEREAS, Kato International LLC seeks to keep the South Plaza ground floor uses as a Use Group 6 eating and drinking establishment associated with the open air café; and

WHEREAS, Both the North and South Plazas, privately owned public spaces, will continue to operate in accordance with the requirements for privately owned public spaces pursuant to ZR 37-70; and

WHEREAS, The operation of the open-air café will continue to operate in accordance with the requirements set forth in ZR 37-73; and

WHEREAS, The proposed plan for the open air café would have 12 tables with 48 chairs, located three feet west of the permitted obstruction seating III and along the south edge of the existing arcade columns as shown on Drawing # ZL07, entitled “On Season Café Plan”, dated 3/27/20 – Issued for Permit; and

WHEREAS, The proposed open air café would serve primarily as a revenue producing extension to a ground floor eating and drinking establishment within a public space, generating revenue from the table-service; and

WHEREAS, CB5 is concerned about both the pedestrian congestion on the sidewalks of midtown, and the safeguarding of bonus-granting public space that the general public is meant to enjoy; and

WHEREAS, CB5 believes that open air café seating in a privately owned public space may be a public benefit only when seating and tables can be used by the public without a need for purchase of food or beverage; and

WHEREAS, At the CB5 Land Use, Housing and Zoning Committee meeting on June 3rd 2020, representatives from Kato International LLC agreed that anyone from the public will be able to sit on the proposed seats and use the tables without need for purchase of food or beverage and non-paying members of the public will not be told to move if a paying customer wishes to sit and all seating is occupied; and

WHEREAS, CB5 believes that if the public ends up unable to use the seating without purchase of food or beverage, the public costs associated with some commercial activity in this public space would outweigh any other potential public benefit associated with this open air café; and

WHEREAS, To ensure the public is aware of their ability to sit in the café seating without need for purchase of food or beverage, Kato International LLC agreed to submit a revised site plan showing the exact location, text and size of signage that provides public information in the following ways:

  1. Text that states “Open to the Public No Purchase Necessary” in text no smaller than the largest non-logo text on any signage board, displayed at the top of both sides of one 3’-10 3/4” by 2’-4” double sided curb sign and café signage and located at the open air café entrance;
  2. Text that states “Open to the Public No Purchase Necessary” displayed on both sides of any signage plaques mounted anywhere in the South Plaza area;

WHEREAS, If signage is not required to make clear to the public that they can use seating and tables without need for a purchase, CB5 does not believe the public would have any knowledge that such seating is available to them; and

WHEREAS, Kato International LLC representatives agreed that the restaurant operator and management will instruct the staff of the restaurant to welcome the public to use the seating in the open-air café; and

WHEREAS, If the seating ends up being available for the public to use both with and without purchase, the proposed open-air café could benefit; and

WHEREAS, If the agreed upon signage is NOT part of the site plan approval for the open air café, CB5 would be in very strong objection to City Planning Commission approval of the open air café as such an approval would constitute the privatization of public space without any benefit provided for everyday New Yorkers who do not wish to make a purchase to enjoy public space; therefore be it

RESOLVED, Community Board Five recommends approval of the application for the renewal of a permit to operate an open air café to be operated and managed by the restaurant leasing the ground floor restaurant space from Kato International located at 12 East 49th Street for the next three years with the following specified requirements:

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