UES Co-Op Sues Ritzy Nightclub For Being Too Loud

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Residents of an Upper East Side co-op are suing a nightclub favored by New York City's elite for near-constant loud noise that is ruining tenants' quality of life and the building's reputation.

The Beekman co-op development claims that Omar at Vaucluse is violating its lease agreement with the building for its "defiance of its contractual obligation to operate only a top-tier restaurant," and the "regular practice of causing loud music, other noise, and vibrations to emanate from Omar's Club into the Beekman's residential apartments late at night," according to a lawsuit filed in Manhattan supreme court.

Noise from the business has ruined Beekman residents' "quality of life" and has tarnished the building's "property value, reputation, and good will," according to the lawsuit.

The Park Avenue apartment building has leased space on its ground floor and basement to a company called Altamarea Group, LLC since 2012. Altamarea Group also operates high-end Manhattan restaurants such as Marea and Ai Fiori.

In March 2018, Altamarea Group converted half of the space of existing French restaurant Vaucluse into a nightclub without giving The Beekman prior notice, according to the lawsuit. Residents at The Beekman claim that since the conversion, Omar at Vaucluse does not live up to the "top tier" standards of Altamarea's other restaurants.

Beekman residents started complaining about the noise coming from the lounge in May 2018, just a few months after the space was converted, according to the lawsuit. Despite numerous complaints from the building to business owners, the parties at Omar at Vaucluse have not stopped. One resident's complaint was met with the response "music is an important part of this new venue," according to the lawsuit.

Parties at Omar at Vaucluse have drawn stars and socialites such as Spike Lee, Prince Albert II of Monaco and Jackie Kennedy Onassis' sister Lee Radziwill, according to a 2018 Vanity Fair profile of the business.

The lawsuit filed by resident of The Beekman is asking a judge to grant a permanent injunction that would prevent Altamarea Group from operating the space as a lounge or nightclub. In a response to the lawsuit filed on Monday, business owners asked for the lawsuit to be dismissed.

Lawyers representing the Altamarea Group wrote in a legal filing that The Beekman has refused to work in good faith to resolve the alleged breaches of the lease.