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Rainbow Room to Stay Open (For Now) on Judge's Orders
By
John Del Signore
Published Jan 13, 2009
Modified Jan 13, 2009
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By
John Del Signore
Published Jan 13, 2009
Modified Jan 13, 2009
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The embattled Cipriani family's grip on the Rainbow Room is still holding fast, thanks to a court order issued yesterday by the Manhattan Supreme Court. Two weeks ago, the family announced that they would close the Rainbow Grill, the restaurant on the 64th Floor of Rockefeller Center, because of the economic tailspin. They had planned to keep the Rainbow Room—the iconic 65th floor Art Deco ballroom and dinner club—open, but then landlord Tishman Speyer moved to evict the restaurateurs because they haven't paid rent since September.
According to Eater, vendors supplying the Cipriani restaurant empire have had trouble getting paid, and the Ciprianis have been withholding rent payments because of a drawn-out rent arbitration with the landlord. The original ten year lease signed in 1998 was for $4 million a year, then a property reappraisal increased the rent to $8.7 million in February 2007, the Daily News reports. Last month the rent was lowered to $6 million, but now the Ciprianis are suing, accusing the property owner of trying to "force Cipriani out of business at the premises and thus out of the premises."
According to Bloomberg News, the Ciprianis contend that the lease termination was retaliation for the family’s arbitration victory and “part of Tishman Speyer’s plan to convert the iconic Rainbow Room to office space." Tishman Speyer insists they simply want "another great restaurateur" to run the Rainbow Room, which will now remain open under Cipriani control until at least January 27th, thanks to the court's temporary restraining order. And today the Times editorial board wistfully writes, "We hope that it finds a way to survive."
Photo courtesy AP/Suzanne Plunkett.
Tagged
Cipriani family
Ciprianis
court
evicting
lawsuit
rainbow grill
rainbow room
suing
tishman speyer
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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