{"id":333716,"date":"2026-08-31T11:02:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T11:02:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/333716\/"},"modified":"2026-08-31T11:02:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T11:02:09","slug":"luxe-nyc-event-venue-hijacks-public-plaza-under-queensboro-bridge-for-300k-suit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/333716\/","title":{"rendered":"Luxe NYC event venue hijacks public plaza under Queensboro Bridge for $300K: suit"},"content":{"rendered":"

A fancy event venue under the Queensboro Bridge<\/a> has illegally claimed a public city plaza as its own for the past decade while charging customers up to $300,000 a pop to rent it, a new lawsuit alleges.<\/p>\n

The Manhattan operators of Guastavino\u2019s have even been aided in their illicit ruse thanks to a reputed shady set-up with the local police precinct, court documents claim.<\/p>\n

Local Sean Basinski wants the DOT to open the underused lot next to the Queensboro Bridge to the public. Instagram\/parknotdump<\/p>\n

\u201cThis case is about the brazen and illegal seizure of public space <\/a>by a high-end private event company and a commercial real estate developer who, on a daily or near-daily basis, evict the general public from a public plaza in Midtown Manhattan,\u201d alleges the class-action suit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court last week.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlaintiffs bring this case to return this small garden to public use and to right the wrongs that Defendants have caused by their illegal actions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Guastavino\u2019s told amNY<\/a> that it \u201cacknowledges that this is a public plaza\u2019\u2019 and that it is working with the city to \u201ccome up with a path forward.\u201d The venue did not immediately respond to a Post request for comment Sunday.<\/p>\n

Guastavino\u2019s event venue is located at 409 E. 59th St in Manhattan. Google Maps<\/p>\n

According to the lawsuit, the city-owned plaza \u2014 part of a massive parcel first purchased in 1900 for the construction of the iconic bridge \u2014 was meant to be \u201ca sitting area accessible to the public.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the venue\u2019s bosses decided they\u2019d <\/a>rather act like they owned the place, the suit says.<\/p>\n

They illegally blocked out taxpayers with fake signs and security guards while hawking it for posh weddings and galas, according to the filing.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit, also brought by a Brooklyn mentalist, a Manhattan grad and a veterinary technician, demands a judge formally declare the plaza public land and force the venue to hand over its ill-gotten gains.<\/p>\n

The Queensboro Bridge, which connects Manhattan with Queens, is seen circa 1915. Getty Images<\/p>\n

A plaintiff in the suit, Sean Basinski, said Guastavino\u2019s security<\/a> forced him off the property when he attempted to use it as a workout space during the COVID-19 lockdowns.<\/p>\n

In 2023, he was escorted off the property again, with workers claiming the public plaza was \u201cpart of the event space\u201d and alluding to how the NYPD \u201cunderstands, in the Community Affairs division, what the arrangement is,\u2019\u2019 court documents claim.<\/p>\n

On other occasions, Basinski demanded to see Guastavino\u2019s lease proving it was private, and the workers told him the signs stating it was private was \u201csufficient legal basis,\u2019\u2019 the suit says.<\/p>\n

During a wild December 2025 confrontation<\/a>, venue boss Louis Rose declared the plaza was \u201cmy property\u201d before grabbing Basinski\u2019s belongings and hurling them into East 59th Street, court papers allege.<\/p>\n

A venue worker then slapped a phone out of Basinski\u2019s hand before 19th Precinct cops arrived, with the officers cuffing him and charging him with trespassing, the suit claims.<\/p>\n

The charges were tossed, but when Basinski returned to the area in April, he was threatened several times by venue workers, court documents allege.<\/p>\n

According to the lawsuit, the city-owned plaza \u2014 part of a massive parcel first purchased in 1900 for the construction of the iconic bridge \u2014 was meant to be \u201ca sitting area accessible to the public.\u201d Stefano Giovannini<\/p>\n

\u201cThis time, you\u2019re going to get locked up \u2014 you\u2019re going to go to the hospital, then you\u2019re going to go to jail,\u201d a worker said, according to video and the suit<\/a>.<\/p>\n

When officers were eventually called on him for reading a book in the spot later that month, they assured him it was private property, despite Basinki demanding proof for their claim, the suit says.<\/p>\n

An officer from the 19th Precinct told him \u201cI don\u2019t need paperwork,\u201d before seven officers escorted him away, the suit alleges.<\/p>\n

A Police Department rep told The Post on Sunday, \u201cThe NYPD will decline comment on pending litigation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2013 Additional reporting by Zoe Hussain<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t