Menin Seeks Permanent Public Access To Plaza Near Guastavino’s

MIDTOWN EAST, NY — City Council Speaker Julie Menin is seeking permanent protections for public access to the plaza outside Guastavino's, after a group of Upper East Side and Midtown East residents sued over allegations that the space has been treated as a private garden for nearly two decades.

In a Tuesday letter to Louis Rose, chairman of Guastavino's owner Rose Group Hospitality, Menin requested a meeting to establish a lasting agreement governing public access, signage and security practices at the city-owned plaza beneath the Queensboro Bridge on East 59th Street.

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The request comes after Guastavino's acknowledged that the space is public and removed signs indicating otherwise.

"Removing the signs was an important first step, but now we need a clear and lasting resolution that ensures this plaza remains open to the public and that there is no ambiguity about its use in the future," Menin said.

The class-action lawsuit accuses Guastavino's of routinely excluding people from the plaza while using it for high-end weddings, galas and corporate events.

"It's not their private garden. It never was. This is public space," Sean Basinski, a neighborhood resident and lawyer involved in the lawsuit, previously told Patch.

Basinski said his fight over the plaza began in 2020, when he brought a kettlebell there to work out and a security guard told him he could not use the space. In December, Basinski said, he was arrested after refusing to leave.

Another plaintiff, Iskander Khan, previously told reporters that he grew up in the neighborhood and remembered being kicked out of the plaza with his father as a child. Since then, Khan said, using the space has "always felt like I'm trespassing."

Following the lawsuit and inquiries from Menin's office, Guastavino's removed signs restricting access and clarified that the plaza is open to the public.

"Guastavino's acknowledges that this is a public plaza," the venue told Patch following the lawsuit. "The signage indicating that it is a private space has been removed."

The venue said it was working with the city on a plan that would keep the plaza public while allowing Guastavino's to safely use it for egress during events.

Menin said she hopes to reach an agreement with the venue but warned that the City Council could consider further action if one cannot be reached.

"New Yorkers should never have to fight for access to spaces that belong to them," Menin said.

For questions, email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.