Ultra-Elite UES Members' Club Faces Opposition, Plus More Openings

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — A British "nightlife king" looking to open a high-end members' club on the Upper East Side ran into opposition from neighbors during a community board meeting this week — one of several upcoming restaurants that were presented to the neighborhood group.

Starting with the controversial club, here's a recap of the restaurants we learned about during Tuesday Community Board 8 committee meeting — also including a new Japanese restaurant and an East Side outpost of the famed dim-sum spot Shun Lee.

Madison Avenue Members' Club (840 Madison Ave., between East 69th and 70th streets)

This not-yet-formally-named club and restaurant will take over a sprawling two-story, 12,500-square-foot space, including a storefront formerly home to a Cartier jewelry shop.

It will be the first New York City venture for Robin Birley, known for his London supper clubs including 5 Hertford Street — an ultra-elite venue rumored to be the place where Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had their first date.

Birley had previously settled on another location on East 60th Street, which CB8 approved in 2019 — only for the location to fall through during the pandemic, attorney Max Bookman told the board on Tuesday.

The Madison Avenue spot will be "extremely high-end," Bookman said, adding that "people are going to pay a lot of money to be members here."

But neighbors came prepared, hiring their own attorney to argue that Birley's application for a liquor license was "seriously deficient," in the words of Leslie Samuels, president of the East 70th Street Block Association.

Neighbors' objections centered on a lack of soundproofing in the restaurant's interior, as well as its plan to have deliveries and trash pickups on East 70th Street instead of Madison Avenue — a move that "will certainly result in serious traffic congestion and noise," Samuels argued.

Milton Strom, president of the adjacent co-op at 10 East 70th St., said the club would disrupt a "quiet and peaceful block" that is home to "a significant number of elderly and infirm people."

Birley's team pushed back strongly, noting that the club's noise would be limited to background piano music. They also rolled out a slate of supporters of the club, including multiple Upper East Siders who are members of Birley's 5 Hertford Street in London.

Jackie Martin, a Fifth Avenue resident and founding member of Five Hertford Street, argued that the club would be "an asset to the community and add valuable tax revenues to the community district." She compared Birley's venues to the Harvard Club, where she said she spends "most of my time."

"Residents can feel safe, because only vetted members and their guests are allowed inside the club and must adhere to strict club rules," she said.

After more than an hour of debate, the CB8 committee moved to table a vote on the club until September, also asking the club to meet with its neighbors in an effort to resolve the disagreements.

Birley, dubbed a "nightclub king" by the New York Post, is also known for his close relationships with the U.K.'s ruling Conservative Party, including Prime Minister Boris Johnson. (He is also known for his distinctive facial scars, the result of being mauled by a tiger as a child.)

For his Madison Avenue club, Birley is looking to court members of New York's creative class as members, the Post reported.

Shun Lee Cafe (1442 Third Ave., between East 81st and 82nd streets)

This will be a new East Side outpost for the famed Cantonese-style dim sum spot, with existing locations in Midtown and the Upper West Side, representative Ellen Lee said.

The two-floor restaurant space was formerly home to Mad River Bar & Grille. Shun Lee Cafe will have a capacity of nearly 200 people, with 112 seats plus a bar, Lee said.

The restaurant will be open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Especially beloved by New York's Jewish community, Shun Lee is in the midst of an expansion, with plans to also open a new restaurant on Broadway and West 98th Street.

Nippori (1435 Second Ave., between East 74th and 75th streets)

Nippori will be "a quiet Japanese restaurant," attorney Phil Dorn said. Its owners run another restaurant on the West Side, plus a previous iteration also named Nippori on West 51st Street that closed due to the pandemic.

Looking to reopen in a "more homey neighborhood," owners settled on the Second Avenue storefront previously occupied by the Italian restaurant Zucchero e Pomodori, Dorn said.

Nippori will be open daily from noon to 10 p.m., featuring 10 outdoor sidewalk seats besides its interior space.

Shun Lee and Nippori both had their liquor-license applications approved by the community board committee.

Have an Upper East Side news tip? Email reporter Nick Garber at nick.garber@patch.com.

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