BLT steakhouse in White Plains got access to its bathrooms.
A Westchester Supreme Court judge granted a temporary restraining order this week, requiring Renaissance Hotel Partners to keep at least one bathroom open and to not interfere with restaurant operations.
James Haber, BLT chief executive officer, claims that Renaissance had denied access to bathrooms, shut off power, and locked out employees, according to an affidavit, in a campaign to force the restaurant to close so that the space could be leased to another tenant.
BLT had already filed an arbitration case last month, demanding $100,000 and claiming that Renaissance was trying to terminate the lease improperly. It petitioned the court for the restraining order Oct 26.
“Most of what Jimmy Haber said is correct,” Mark Weissman, a Renaissance partner, said in a telephone interview. “But there are a couple of very important omissions that frame the dispute in a different light.”
Weissman, partner Yaniv Blumenfeld and attorney Alan Ederer said Renaissance acted only out of concerns for health and safety and to protect the company from liability.
BLT is at 3 Renaissance Square, in the former Ritz-Carlton Hotel. It has entrances in the hotel and on Main Street in the heart of White Plains.
The location is something of a steakhouse row: a Morton”™s and a new Fogo de Chao Brazilian Steakhouse are a block away, and Z Prime Italian Steakhouse is nearby.
BLT leased the 7,500-square-foot, ground floor space from Cappelli Enterprises in 2009. Renaissance, an affiliate of Glacier Global Partners, Manhattan, acquired the lease last year.
The business is structured as a 50-50 joint venture. Profits are split evenly. Renaissance, as the managing member, is responsible for finances and business affairs. BLT runs the restaurant.
The steakhouse closed temporarily in March, when Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered restaurants to shut because of the Covid-19 pandemic. BLT notified Renaissance this past summer that it planned to start up again, and it re-opened Sept. 1.
That”™s when the trouble began, according to BLT”™s version of events. Renaissance required BLT to give 48 hours’ notice for entering the building, with an escort, before the opening. Power was shut off and equipment was turned off, exposing food to spoilage.
The hotel lobby bathrooms that BLT customers use were locked and an entrance was padlocked. Renaissance called police to stop staff from entering the building. The city health and building departments were called about alleged violations.
Most of the measures were taken after the hotel was vandalized recently, Blumenfeld said. The Ritz-Carlton is being converted to a Marriott Autograph Collection Hotel and is under renovation, and the complex also has 240 residences.
“We”™re very concerned about access,” he said. “Anyone can walk through the lobby.”
Renaissance also is concerned about health and safety, with the hotel construction work and the potential of Covid-19 spreading in the restaurant.
Another concern is financial liability. BLT applied for a federal Payroll Protection Program loan without consulting with Renaissance, Weissman said.
Renaissance was concerned about how the PPP money would be allocated and what would be done to protect everyone”™s health and safety, he said, and given the concerns about potential liability, “we didn”™t”™ want any part of that.”
“We don”™t think they have authority to be open in the first place,” Ederer, the Renaissance attorney, said.
BLT argues in its petition that Renaissance did not have the authority to unilaterally stop restaurant operations. It claims its reputation has been damaged and profits have been lost.
BLT is represented by White Plains attorneys Alfred Donnellan and Nelida Lara.
