Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises

Good morning. Welcome to, welcome to today's New York City Council vote for the Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises. At this time, I would like to remind everyone to silence all electronic devices. Also, at this point going forward, no one is to approach the dais. Chair, we're ready to begin. Good morning and welcome to a meeting of the Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises.

I am Councilmember Farrah Lewis, chair of the subcommittee. This morning we are joined by Councilmembers Schulman, Salam, Felder, Encarnacion, Jay-Santos, Thomas Henry, and Wilson.

Today we are voting on 2 proposals and holding 1 hearing. 2 proposals that we— the 2 proposals that we will vote on are 1455 Coney Island Avenue Community Facility rezoning in Councilmember Felder's district, 135 25-27 Sapphire Street Residential Rezoning in Councilmember Areola's district. We will then hold the hearing regarding Studio 54 Rehabilitation and Tax Amendment in Councilmember Wilson's district.

This meeting is being held in hybrid format. Members of the public who wish to testify may testify in person or via Zoom. Members of the public wishing to testify remotely may register by visiting the New York City Council website at www.council.nyc.gov/landuse. Thank you. To sign up, or for those of you that are in the room today, please see one of the sergeants at arms to prepare and submit a speaker card.

Members of the public may also view a livestream broadcast of the meeting at the council's website. When you are called to testify before the subcommittee, if you are joining us remotely, you may remain muted until recognized by myself to speak. When you are recognized, your microphone will be unmuted. We will limit public testimony to 2 minutes per witness.

If you have additional testimony that you would like to the subcommittee to consider, or if you have written testimony that you would like to submit instead of appearing in person, please email it to lanuestimony@council.nyc.gov. Written testimony may be submitted up to 3 days after the hearing is closed. Please indicate the LU number and project name in the subject line of your email.

We request that witnesses joining us remotely remain in the meeting until excused by the chair, as council members may have questions. Lastly, for everyone attending today's meeting, this is a government proceeding and decorum must be observed at all times. Members of the public are asked not to speak during the meeting unless you are testifying. The witness table is reserved for people who are called to testify, and no video recording or photography is allowed from the witness table.

Further, members of the public may not present audio or video recordings as testimony, but may submit transcripts of such recordings to the sergeant-at-arms for inclusion into the hearing. record.

We will now proceed with the 2 votes. The first vote concerns LUs 142, 143 regarding the 1455 Coney Island Avenue rezoning proposal in Councilmember Felder's district. Applicant is seeking to develop a nursing home with 300 beds in Midwood, Brooklyn. The proposal involves 2 actions. The first is a zoning map amendment to change the existing residential R-5 district with a C-2-3 commercial overlay to a commercial C4-5D.

The second action is a zoning text amendment to map a mandatory inclusionary housing area because the rezoning would increase the allowable residential density. A second vote concerns LUs 144 and 145 regarding the 135-27 Sapphire Boulevard rezoning proposal in Councilmember Areola's district. Applicant is proposing to build a residential project with 268 apartments, of which 67 would be permanently affordable.

The proposal involves 2 actions. The first is a zoning map amendment to change the existing residential R-4 district to a residential R-6A district. The second action is a zoning text amendment to map a mandatory inclusionary housing area. Councilmember Areola supports this application.

Council, are there any members— are there any council members with questions or remarks at this time? No, Chair.

I now call for a vote to approve LUs 142 and 143 related to the 1455 Coney Island Avenue, and LUs 144 and 145 related to the 135-27 Sapphire Street. Council, please call the roll. Chair Lewis? Aye on all. Council Member Schulman? Aye on all. Council Member Shalom? Council Member Felder? Aye. Councilmember Encarnacion? Aye. Councilmember Sanchez? Aye. Councilmember Thomas-Henry?

Aye. By a vote of 7 in the affirmative, 0 opposing, and 0 abstentions, the items are approved as— let's add one more vote. Councilmember Farias. I vote aye. So, um, by now, by a tally of 8 in the affirmative, 0 opposing, and 0 abstentions, the items are approved as described by the chair, and these items are now referred to the full Land Use Committee.

Perfect. We are now joined also by Councilmember Farias. Good morning. I will now open the hearing on LUs 153 and 154 regarding Studio 54 Rehabilitation and Text Amendment in Councilmember Wilson's district. The applicant is seeking to restore an old theater in Midtown and transfer the development rights generated by the lot where the theater is located.

For anyone wishing to testify regarding this proposal remotely, if you have not already done so, you must register online by visiting the council's website at council.nyc.gov/landuse. For anyone with us in person, please see one of the sergeant-at-arms to submit a speaker card. If you would prefer to— sorry, if you would prefer to submit written testimony, you can always do so by emailing it to landusetestimony@council.nyc.gov.

We've also been joined by Council Thank you, Chair. Good morning. I am proud to express my support for Roundabout Theatre Company's Studio 54 rehabilitation and their land use application. Studio 54 is an iconic part of New York City's cultural history, and preserving spaces like this is essential to keeping our city's arts and entertainment industry vibrant and accessible for generations to come.

Theater is more than just entertainment. It supports jobs, strengthens our local economy, brings visitors to our neighborhoods, and creates opportunities for artists and audience from all walks of life. As council member for a district that hosts some of the city's most enduring cultural touchstones, I believe we have a responsibility to protect these institutions that make our neighborhoods unique while ensuring they can continue to grow and serve our communities present day.

And, you know, Broadway and the theater and our culture scene doesn't just happen. It takes investment and it takes stewardship. And this project is a great investment in the future of our Broadway scene and our cultural landscape. So I want to thank Roundabout Theatre for its continued investment in New York City. And I look forward to seeing Studio 54 continue to thrive as an important part of our city's theatrical landscape.

Thank you. future. Thank you. Thank you, Councilmember Wilson.

We will now reopen the vote for Minority Leader Carr. Aye on all. Thank you. So now by a revised count for a second time, a vote of 9 in the affirmative, 0 opposing, and 0 abstentions. The items are approved as described by the chair, and these items are now referred to the full Land Use Committee.

Thank you, Council. I will now open— I will now call the applicant panel for this proposal, which consists of Carol Rosenthal, Christopher Knave, and Francille Lim. Counsel, could you please administer the oath once they come up here? Good morning. You can have a seat. Once you're settled in, yes. Could you please raise your right hand and state your name for the record?

Francelle Lim. Christopher Nave. Carol Rosenthal. You swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth in your testimony this morning in response to councilmember questions? Yes. Yes. Thank you. Thank you, counsel. You may now begin your testimony, which is limited to 10 minutes. You should start to conclude your presentation after 8 minutes. When you begin your presentation, please restate your name and the name of your organization.

You may begin.

Thank you, Chair Lewis and fellow members of the Zoning Subcommittee, for your time today to review our ULURP application. My name is Chris Knave, and I am the Chief Advancement Officer at Roundabout Theatre Company. With us today are Kara Rosenthal from Fried Frank, Francelle Lim from Ennead Architects, as well as other members of our team. If you're following along, you can go to the next slide.

Before handing it off to my colleagues who will speak specifics on our requested actions and proposed rehabilitation at Studio 54, I will share an overview of our organization's mission and impact as the nation's largest not-for-profit theater company. Originally founded in 1965, Roundabout is one of only 4 nonprofits operating on Broadway. Our mission is to celebrate the power of theater by spotlighting classics from the past, cultivating new works of the present and educating minds for the future.

We operate 5 theaters on and off Broadway within Manhattan's Theater District. Annually, we produce 6 to 8 classics, new plays, and musicals and reach approximately half a million theatergoers. We employ over 1,500 full and part-time staff members, and our work has been recognized with 42 Tony Awards, 3 Pulitzer Prizes, and many other honors. We're most proud to serve 30,000 New York City students, teachers, and lifelong learners through tailored partnerships with public schools, schools and libraries in all 5 boroughs.

Most notably, we operate a nationally recognized theatrical workforce development program in partnership with IATSE and the City of New York. We are proud of the 150 young New Yorkers trained to date, 86% of whom are working in performing arts. Thanks to the city's considerable $26.6 million commitment, with one-third of that coming from City Council, this will be the first comprehensive renovation of Studio 54 in its 100-year life cycle.

We're grateful to Councilmember Wilson and his colleagues across city government for supporting this project. We're also appreciative of Community Board 5 and Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman Siegel for their support of our land use application. I just want to say before I turn it over to Carol, among our many priorities, we are committed to honoring the legacy of Studio 54 and maintaining its tradition as an epicenter of creativity, connection, and artistic expression.

And I'll hand it over to Carol.

Thank you. We can turn to the next slide. I'm Carol Rosenthal. I'm senior counsel at Fried Frank representing Roundabout today. The theater is sort of the north part of the Theater District, which you can see on the slide to the left in yellow. And it's located on West 53rd Street. That's the main theater building. The entrance is located off of West 54th Street.

It goes through a 19-story office building. It's an easement through the ground floor. Also on the same zoning lot is a 3rd building, which is a 43-story building built about 25 years ago. We can go to the next slide. This is a picture of it showing it from the 54th Street entrance and showing it from the 53rd Street where the actual theater building is located.

And on the next slide. You can see some of the interior as it exists today. Both what's happening to the left and also the theater itself, which has certain components that are different than many theaters, including no orchestra pit. And I don't know if you can tell from the slide, but the seats on the top mezzanine are extremely pitched.

Like, you sort of feel like you're going to— Fall off. fly over when you're on them. So, next slide. Chris mentioned that the theater has a 100-year-old history. It started in 1927 as the Gallo Opera House. It was to compete with the Metropolitan Opera House, and we know what happened in that competition. So later, it was purchased by CBS for its radio and television shows, studios.

And then after that, it went through kind of a fallow time until 1977, where it became the famous or something infamous Studio 54. And between '43 and '77, to— for the use for television studio, the floor was straightened so that the seats came down and the orchestra pit was filled. After Studio 54, which to my surprise only lasted 2 years, in our minds it looms much larger.

It went through a whole— the building went through a period of difficulty and eventually into a foreclosure and was purchased by the Allied Partners. Finally, in 1998, Roundabout, whose Cabaret show was having the result of an emergency, had to move to another theater quickly, and it moved to this theater because Cabaret— it suited Cabaret with its flat floor.

In 2003, Roundabout purchased Studio 54 with the help of the city and has run it, operated it since 2003 as a not-for-profit theater. Next. Next slide.

The actions today, we have 2 actions. One is there is existing in the zoning resolution, a theater rehabilitation bonus. So this 100-year-old theater with all of its ups and downs, both financially and physically, needs substantial rehabilitation. It's time to do that, and Roundabout is putting together an amazing program to do that and bring it up to the 20th century, 21st century.

The— so they were here for the 3-year rehabilitation bonus, which will allow additional floor area in exchange for rehabilitating the theater. The second action is a text amendment. Because there is no place on the zoning lot to use the bonus floor area, this would allow the theater to transfer it to elsewhere within the theater district. Next slide.

And the requirements for rehabilitation bonus is not just ordinary work. It's major structural changes for purposes of improving the theater, for commercial viability for legitimate theater use, including work like expanding the stage, re-raking the orchestra, improving accessibility, etc. So we're going to— I'm going to turn it over now to our architect who will talk about the work that is going— that we're doing in light of these requirements.

Thank you. Thank you. Next slide, please. Good morning. My name is Francelle Lim. I'm from Enneada Architects, and we're working with the Roundabout Theater on the rehabilitation for Studio 54. This is just a list of a lot of the deficiencies and challenges that currently exist at Studio 54 and the proposed rehabilitation. We're going to go over each of these in the following slides, so I'm not going to read through these.

Next. Starting with the stage and the orchestra pit, which Carol just spoke a little bit about. This is a Broadway house. It operates without an orchestra pit, which puts it at a— a very difficult position in that to put in certain productions, you have to overbuild the stage or you have to overbuild the seating, which can cost anywhere from $40,000 to $90,000 per production every time it has to do that.

Also, when the orchestra pit was removed, I think it was when CBS was in the building, they also closed up the stage traps, which is also integral for theatrical productions. Next.

So, as part of the rehabilitation, not only are we restoring the orchestra pit and the stage traps, rebuilding the stage, we're also expanding the stage left area, providing some offstage area wing space that does not exist now, which will help with productions. Next. In the back of house, there are quite a lot of challenges and deficiencies. There are insufficient space for artists and production support.

None of the spaces are ADA accessible, and the systems, the mechanical system, the communication systems are completely outdated. Next. So, for the back-of-house rehabilitation, upgrades, of course, will happen for all of the building systems. Additional space will be created for back-of-house support by excavating below the current orchestral level in non-excavated space in the basement. All of the spaces for support and production will be rearranged and accessible.

Next. In the auditorium and patron seating on the ground floor, the orchestra we've already spoke about, it's been flattened out. So, the orchestra will be re-raked so that the sightlines again will be restored. in addition to the orchestra pit. There will also be a better distribution of ADA seating, which right now, because of the configuration, is limited to the front row, really sides of the orchestral level.

The balcony will be rebuilt, both the lower and upper balcony, because they're currently— Carol mentioned the pitching of the balcony, the steepness of the rake, and the sightlines, as well as there's no accessibility on the upper level. Yes. Next. I think I jumped ahead a little bit on the rehabilitation. So we are re-raking the orchestra level, rebuilding the balcony in full, which allows, again, greater patron accessibility on all levels of the seating.

It also provides for better comfort, better sightlines, and, you know, improves the experience for the patrons. Next slide.

So the front of house has a lot of deficiencies as well. Part is the— there is a limited circulation. If you could wrap it up. Okay. Thank you. And limited circulation and a lot of crowds in the lobby. So the rehabilitation on the next slide will redistribute patron services. And this is just a slide that talks about accessibility throughout the entire building.

And we want to stress that this accessibility is not just for patrons, it's also for artists and staff, as well as the public, to make it a safe and accessible facility. And then just to wrap up, we have some renderings that show the work that, in addition to all of these technical upgrades, obviously— You can go to the next slide.

We are also doing work to restore the building And this is a look at the exterior of the building with a new renovated marquee and a new sign that mimics the original sign. Next slide. Shows the original lobby, which is being restored pretty much intact. Next slide. Shows the relocated bar taken out of the back of the orchestra to alleviate crowding. which is on the main floor.

The next slide shows the new mezzanine bar enlarged to create a greater space for patrons. It also shows an upper overlook, which provides the accessibility level to the upper balcony. And what I forgot to mention is there is an elevator that is servicing all of the levels for the patrons. And the last slide, I believe, is a view of the house in its renovated state.

Thank you. Thank you. I have a quick question regarding the proposal, and I'll hand it over to Councilmember Wilson. I would like to better understand why the use of the additional floor area available through the current special permit is limited to the site where the theater is located, if you could share with us. That's— I'll address that.

That is in the provision of the zoning resolution right now. It was This text dates back about 44 years to one— it's one of the original in the Theater District, which was one of the first special districts. It was thought that it would benefit owners at the time by having their ability to build over or around where they sit, exactly where they are.

In the many years since it's been passed, it's been used 3 times. So an average of like one every 15 years, once every 15 years. And this has been a real— this particular— What's the name of the district? provision has been a real issue because you just have to happen to have a building that is going to be developed.

We don't. The development occurred before it was a legitimate theater. So this provision, by changing it, it will allow us to have the development rights used elsewhere within the theater district. Thank you. Councilmember Wilson? Thank you, Chair. Good morning. As I said in the remarks, very excited about this project, and I'm really excited to see that the application will make it possible for Studio 54 to undergo some much-needed upgrades.

To what degree do the proposed text amendments impact other theaters in the District, and do you have an idea of how many other theaters may benefit from these changes to how the floor area bonus may be used? The zoning resolution, like in many cases, is not for just one property. It's a general text for the theater district as a whole.

We know of one other theater that has an application also coming down the pike, but that's all we know right now. But theoretically, this is a tool that other theaters that are very old can utilize for upgrades. That's right. And it will be another source of their ability to raise funds to do that. So part of the text amendment adds that the bonus floor area can only be used by a receiving site once the substantial rehab in the theater has been completed.

How does this impact the timeline for the transfer of development rights? There's a number of guardrails on use of these development rights. One is that the city will be able to get the benefit of the bargain, meaning the rehab work will be done before you can then sell the development rights. So you'll either have to have a contract ahead of time or a bridge loan or some other mechanism to fund during that interim period.

Have you begun discussing the transfer of development rights to potential receiving sites? And are there developers interested in purchasing your potential bonus floor area? You know, we've been hamstrung. It's hard to sell something that you don't have. So we have been working hard to get this text passed through and then to be able to say to people, now we have something that we can sell to you.

And then when will renovations begin? And when they begin, how is that going to affect the programming at Roundabout and Studio 54? So right now, the plan is for construction to begin in 2028 and last approximately 2 years. Thankfully, Roundabout operates 5 theaters within the theater subdistrict. And so it's sort of a careful chess game of what what goes into production and what comes offline, and we're currently in the process of planning that season.

But our intention is not to reduce our offerings at all to our— the students and audiences we serve.

Great. Thank you, Chair. That's all for me. Thank you, Council. Are there any members of the— this panel is excused. Thank you so much for your time today. We appreciate you all. Council, are there any members of the public Yes, we actually have one person signed up who is here, and then we also have one person online.

For members of the public here to testify, please note that witnesses will generally be called in panels of 3. If you are a member of the public signed up to testify, please stand by when you hear your name being called and prepare to speak when I indicate that you may begin. Please also note that once all panelists in your group have completed their testimony, you will be asked to step aside.

If remotely, you will be removed from the meeting as a group and the next group of speakers will be introduced. Once removed, participants may continue to view livestream broadcasts of the hearing on the council website. Members of the public will be given up to 2 minutes to speak. Please do not begin until the sergeant-at-arms has started the clock.

The following individuals who signed up to testify should now come to the witness table. Mitchell Matson. Hello. You may begin.

Thank you, Chair Lewis, Council, and other committee members. I'm Mitch Matson, and I'm reading this on behalf of a friend who is sick today and had every intention of being here. Megan Fraser, a TWDP, Theatrical Workforce Development Program, alumni who has worked at Studio 54 and wished for me to share this. Good morning, Chair Lewis and Council Members.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak today on behalf of Roundabout Theatre Company. My name is Megan Fraser, and I am a Local 1 stagehand and alumni of Roundabout's Career Training Program. Studio 54 was a critical piece of my training as a first-year fellow in Roundabout's Theatrical Workforce Development Program. I was able to observe professional stagehands in action and participate in hands-on workshops where I learned how to operate chain motors on the stage and in the fly space of the theater.

The training set me on a career path that altered the course of my life. After working consistently as an electrician and pyrotechnician for 7 years, including 3 years on union contracts, I was officially sworn in to the— as a member of the IATSE Local 1 in 2025. Today, I am currently the most extensively licensed pyrotechnician within Local 1, with licenses in fire performance for film, television, and theater in New York, New Jersey, and Nevada.

My work as a pyrotechnician can be seen in multiple Broadway shows, including the musical& Juliet, now performing at Roundabout's Stephen Sondheim Theatre. I am in full support of the actions seeking a special permit and text amendment for the rehabilitation of Studio 54. Roundabout's proposed renovations to restore Studio 54's original technical theater capacities will bring them up to the 21st century Broadway standards and will drastically improve TWDP's skill-based curriculum.

Year 1 in TWDP is critical for discovering your craft specialty and mastering those skills to stay competitive in our gig-based economy. With the City's support for this application, Roundabout will be able to bring its vision for Studio 54 to life, not only for the artists and crews working, but for the next generation of technicians training up behind them.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you for your testimony. Any councilmember questions? Okay. Thank you so much for being here. This panel is excused. This is the last call. If there are any members of the public who wish to testify regarding this proposal remotely, please press the raise hand button now. Or if you are in person, please identify yourself to the sergeant at arms. 30 seconds.

Good evening. Being that there are no members of the public who wish to testify regarding LUs 153 and 154 relating to the Studio 54 rehabilitation and tax amendment, the public hearing is now closed. The items are laid over.

That concludes today's business. I would like to thank members of the public, my colleagues, Subcommittee Council, land use and council staff, and the sergeant-at-arms for participating in today's meeting. This meeting is hereby adjourned— or not adjourned. Oh, adjourned. Okay. Stand at ease. This meeting is now hereby adjourned. Have a good day, everyone. Bye.