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Loeb & Loeb successfully represented Bryant Park Corporation (BPC)—a nonprofit private management company that owns, operates and manages Bryant Park in New York City—in defeating an attempt by Ark Restaurants, the operator of three restaurants in the park, to prevent the termination of their long-standing leases.
Ark has operated the well-known Bryant Park Grill since 1991 and has managed the other two restaurants for several decades. Its leases for all three locations are set to expire on April 30, 2025. In a recent bidding process, acclaimed chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten—backed by Seaport Entertainment—emerged as the winning bidder to take over the spaces.
In an effort to block BPC’s new lease agreements with Jean-Georges, Ark sought emergency relief from the New York County Supreme Court to prevent the proposed Jean-Georges restaurants from opening in the park.
Following a two-day preliminary injunction hearing—including testimony from Ark owner Michael Weinstein, BPC president Dan Biederman and others—Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Anar Rathod Patel ruled on April 23, 2025, that Ark had no legal basis to block Jean-Georges from taking over the three restaurants. Justice Patel found that the bidding process, in which Ark fully participated, was fair and impartial, and deemed BPC’s witnesses credible. The court also held that the lease’s right of first refusal provision did not apply.
The Loeb team representing BPC in the matter includes Gil Feder, chair of the firm’s Real Estate Litigation practice, and Litigation associate Matthew Anderson.
Ark has operated the well-known Bryant Park Grill since 1991 and has managed the other two restaurants for several decades. Its leases for all three locations are set to expire on April 30, 2025. In a recent bidding process, acclaimed chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten—backed by Seaport Entertainment—emerged as the winning bidder to take over the spaces.
In an effort to block BPC’s new lease agreements with Jean-Georges, Ark sought emergency relief from the New York County Supreme Court to prevent the proposed Jean-Georges restaurants from opening in the park.
Following a two-day preliminary injunction hearing—including testimony from Ark owner Michael Weinstein, BPC president Dan Biederman and others—Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Anar Rathod Patel ruled on April 23, 2025, that Ark had no legal basis to block Jean-Georges from taking over the three restaurants. Justice Patel found that the bidding process, in which Ark fully participated, was fair and impartial, and deemed BPC’s witnesses credible. The court also held that the lease’s right of first refusal provision did not apply.
The Loeb team representing BPC in the matter includes Gil Feder, chair of the firm’s Real Estate Litigation practice, and Litigation associate Matthew Anderson.
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Chair, Real Estate Litigation -
Associate