Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C. Obtains Rare Preliminary Injunction Against “Private Social Club” for Excessive Noise and Disregard of Neighbors and Shareholders’ Rights
No one who lives in New York City can expect the same peace and quiet that they would get in a different setting. However, that doesn’t mean that city dwellers give up their rights to the peaceful enjoyment of their homes.
ALBPC ‘s client, a small, seven-unit coop, includes a commercial space on the ground floor that had always been occupied by restaurants. Most recently, however, the space was rented by a “private social club” that promised to be open only to members and guests, and to be a place for intimate conversation, not a dance club or event venue.
When it became clear that the tenant was ignoring its promises and operating as an event venue, with loud parties going well into the night, ALBPC’s lawyers got to work to try to convince the judge that the club’s operations constituted a nuisance and the noise and the disruptive crowds that the club subjected the coop shareholders to was in violation of both their sublease and the proprietary lease for the space. ALBPC retained the services of a sound engineer and submitted a number of documents, including information from the tenant’s own social media, which convinced the court to issue a preliminary injunction, which remains in effect while the case is being litigated, ordering the club not to play any music that could be heard outside of the venue, including in the dwelling units at the coop, from 11 p.m. until 8 a.m. the following day, a significant victory that limits the club’s ability to book the sort of events that had been so disruptive.
The coop also complained that the club had been issued violations and stop orders by the FDNY for using an inadequate and potentially hazardous cooking exhaust system. The court also ordered the club to stop using its cooking facilities until it repaired the system, cleared up the violations and got approval from the Fire Department.
This injunction allows the coop’s residents a significant measure of relief from the club’s intrusion into their lives.
Laurence Sklaw and Nurie Metodieva of Adam Leitman Bailey P.C. represented the coop.