UPPER EAST SIDE — Not even an endorsement by billionaire Ron Perelman could convince the Upper East Side’s community board to keep the sidewalk café at Nello, the pricey Madison Avenue celebrity magnet.
The letter of support from the Revlon magnate, which was presented to Community Board 8 Wednesday night along with a round of support from some present, didn't sway the board, which voted down a renewal application for Nello’s sidewalk café license.
"I must say Nello is an excellent restaurant," CB8 member Teri Slater said. "That's not the issue here. It's not about being an excellent restaurant. It's about being an excellent neighbor."
CB8 said it was fed up with the sidewalk cafe attached to Nello Balan's famed eatery, which has drawn the likes of Mickey Rourke, Charlize Theron, Jay-Z, Beyonce Knowles and Kanye West.
The restaurant has had a cafe featuring three tables with four chairs each in front of its 696 Madison Ave. location for two decades, Balan said. He hasn't had problems before with his sidewalk cafe, which has a license that needs to be renewed every two years, he claimed.
Then, this month, a resident came to the board to complain about the eatery's outdoor speakers, which the community board said were illegal. The board investigated and found that at least seven 311 calls had been placed about the restaurant in the past year, and some on the board added that the community has had problems with noise from Nello in the past.
"I wouldn't call their history illustrious," said board member M. Barry Schneider. "It's deplorable, particularly with the community." He said the "entitlement we've been hearing from Nello all these years reared its ugly head" again.
When Schneider was chair of the CB8 from 1998 through 2000, sidewalk cafes were not legal on Madison Avenue, and community leaders met with the restaurant several times to ask it to "stop flouting the law," Schneider said. Nello's sidewalk cafe only became legal after Schneider's tenure as chair, he said.
Several Upper East Siders on the society circuit appealed to the board Wednesday.
“I’d like to remind everybody of Nello’s illustrious history. It’s become a cultural icon of Madison Avenue,” lifelong Upper East Sider Douglas Dechert said before the vote. “It’s an important place for visitors to the city to get a good sense of the Upper East Side community.”
He said that Nello remained one of the few remaining bistros on the avenue, now that eateries such as Frederick's Madison, Le Cirque and La Goulue have closed.
Joan Jedell, who publishes the “Hamptons Sheet” told board members that she dines at Nello four times a week with her clients.
“They love it,” she said. “It feels European. It’s quiet and you can talk. It’s decorated for the seasons, right now with pumpkins. I endorse Nello’s as my favorite place in New York City.”
Though the restaurant said it removed the speakers, board members remained unmoved and mentioned how the restaurant refused, for instance, to close its windows at 10 p.m., as other restaurants agree to do.
Nello Balan, however, told DNAinfo his restaurant has been good to the city.
"This is our 21st year," he said. "We employ about 60 people. We pay a big rent. … Maybe we pay $1 million in taxes a year. I'm not an accountant, but that's a lot of money for the city."
He vowed to find a way to keep his sidewalk cafe running.
Nello claimed that those three outside tables were always the first to be snatched up in nice weather and they're occupied all day long by people just having coffee, dessert or a drink. He worried that without the outdoor seating people might just walk past the restaurant.
"It's the look of the neighborhood," he said of the outdoor seats. "I'm sure you've been to Paris, London, Rome: every place has windows open and tables outside. People like to sit outside."
He mused that he might approach City Council to see what his options are.
"Now we have to go to the next step," Balan said.. "We're not going to give up just like that. We have a right to have [the sidewalk café]. It's legal. We cannot survive without it."
