This is the William Penthouse.
Can you see my cursor on that?
Yes, I can.
Is that front on Chestnut Street?
Well, yes.
I mean, to get to our front door, you have to come in off Chestnut Street right near where your cursor is.
And that's the walkway, right where your cursor is.
That's the walkway from Chestnut to our front door.
But the building does not front on Chestnut Street.
That's my question.
No, it does not.
And it's another picture here.
It's set back.
It actually fronts on Ranstead and Ludlow Street.
Would that be accurate?
Well, in my opinion, I wouldn't call that front, but one side of our building is on Ludlow Street.
Well, yeah, sorry, I'm using zoning terms.
Right, and Ranset Street is not a street that goes through.
I understand.
There's only a small portion of it.
But it's partially open, I would say.
So, you know, back here on Ludlow Street, that's where the loading and unloading occurs, and trash removal.
Is that correct?
yes loading is done from ludlow dude does the fire department or emergency vehicles
ever use that street i have not seen them on ludlow street okay um i want to ask you about
this the process of um uh the william penn process so there was a public meeting held
let's say public meeting you held a meeting with with the representatives of um of the bankroll
Stephen Starr restaurant, correct? Correct. And in general, how many board members make up your board?
Correct. And in general, how many board members make up your board?
Eleven. And they consist of residents? Yes. And how do they get placed on the board? Is it by
election? It is by election. Okay. And is there a zoning subcommittee or something like that,
who a smaller group of people who took the lead on this?
It was our executive committee of the board.
I think you did explain how the board arrived at its decision.
So was there a vote of the entire board or the vote of the committee?
How does it work?
That's what I'm trying to understand.
how the position was arrived at?
Well, there was a vote of the entire board.
I mean, much of the communication was just
with the executive committee of the board.
But after we met and made whatever decisions we made,
we brought it to the entire board
so that they make the decision as to the position
that the William Penthouse wants to take on this matter.
I wanted to ask you some questions
about your petition that was just shown.
So how were those signatures compiled?
I heard you say that the petition was left from the front desk.
Like, is that would be near where the sign-in sheet is if you walk into that desk?
So where we get packages, et cetera.
And was it just sitting there on the desk for anyone to sign who was a resident?
And was there anyone available to talk to if someone wanted to sign that petition or any documents there that they could review?
There were no documents for them to review, but they were told if they want, they could leave a message for the board of directors.
When you say documents to review, where were those documents? Were they with the sign-in sheet?
No, there were no documents with the sign-in sheet, but if somebody had an interest, they could go to our management office.
Understood. And so, who or what individuals were responsible for compiling the petition and then submitting it today, other than your counsel? I'm not asking about that.
Right. No, our management office.
Your management office? Okay. And you mentioned the application that the applicant has to the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board for a liquor license. Is that correct?
Well, I wasn't really talking about their license as much as what we were told at meetings with the bankroll representative saying that their liquor license allows them to be open until 2.
So you're aware there was a liquor license application?
Correct.
And did the William Penthouse similarly compile petitions to oppose the liquor license?
Actually, this is the zoning case, and that's the liquor control board, and I don't know what relevance.
If you just allow me, I'll get to the relevance in a second. If not, I would agree with your objection.
We did not compile an objection to the liquor license.
So you were not involved with or aware of a petition that was submitted to the liquor
control board in opposition?
Not that I remember.
Do you know who Mr. Rosen is?
Mr. Rosen
excuse me
Mr. Rosen
David Rosen
I believe you're talking
about Mr. Rose
not Rosen
Rose sorry
so you're aware of him
absolutely
do you know anything about
him and his involvement with
the petition to the
lcb board mr chair i'm going to inject again because i really don't know well here's the
point okay here's an affidavit from mr rose who who signed and said that there was a petition
filing to the lcb board and his name was sports so to me that brings into suspect any of the names
that are on this petition uh in connection with this case for his own i'm going to object to mr
rose's affidavit because it's hearsay unless he's here to testify he signed it and notarized it if
want me to bring it i'm happy but in order in the interest of time on this you're not going
to accept the notarized affidavit okay no anyway
mr neederman um and i raised this yesterday too were you
Mr. Niederman, and I raised this yesterday too, were you aware of the restaurant application
that was filed in 2017 in this 1910 Chestnut Street?
For another sit-down restaurant?
Correct.
Were you on the board at that time?
And you were aware there was no opposition at the time?
Correct.
So how does that restaurant differ from this restaurant, if you know or if you can say?
Well, that restaurant, as we were informed, was just a restaurant.
Bankroll is not just a restaurant, even though mostly what we were told was, oh, it's just the Stephen Starr restaurant.
But the hours of operation are very different from most restaurants.
And they're the basis for a lot of our concerns.
So you're saying that their restaurant hours are different than their other star restaurants,
such as Midtown and the Park? Have you checked with it? Or is that just your speculation?
Well, somewhat speculation, but I frequent those restaurants a lot.
I don't necessarily state or two. As far as I know, they are not open at those hours.
Okay. That's all I have for Mr. Niedermann, Mr. Mattione.
Mr. Mattione, call your next witness, please.
Yes, Ira Rosen.
Mr. Rosen has been allowed to speak.
Mr. Rosen, state your name and spell it for the court reporter, please.
Yes, my name is Ira Rosen, I-R-A-R-O-S-E-N.
Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth?
Yes, I do.
Mr. Mattione, proceed
Mr. Mattione, could we see if we can get your client
to move closer to the mic
Absolutely, sorry
Yeah, Ira, you're a little low
Okay, how about now
It's still a little low
if you can do something
Let me try
Is that better?
Yeah, it's better
Mr. Rosen is an entertainment industry expert.
What is your profession or occupation, Ira?
I'm an event and venue risk assessment consultant specializing in both indoor and outdoor venues.
And is a copy of your CV up on the screen?
Hold on, I have to share my screen.
I'm sorry.
Is it up now?
Yes, it is.
Is that a copy of your CV?
Yes, it is.
We have no objection to it being offered as an expert.
Okay, thank you.
Thank you, Ron.
Do you have a CFEE certification?
Yes, I do.
And what does that mean?
It is a Certified Festivals and Events Executive Certification from the International Festivals and Events Association.
And are you familiar with the Bankroll Project?
Yes, I am.
And is the, oops, sorry, document up on the screen, a copy of the report you repaired regarding the bankroll application?
Yes, it is.
And what information did you review regarding bankroll?
I've reviewed about 12 different documents, including a letter from Bankroll to the residents of William Penhouse, the proposed Memorandum of Agreement, Philadelphia Inquirer Article of 9-9-21,
Portico Article of 9-5-21, all of the Zoning Board submissions, review of security reports submitted by Bankroll, Philadelphia Business Journal article,
security report submitted by Collins Security Group, the Allied Universal documentation,
PHP planning documentation, traffic planning documentation.
And have you visited the site and surrounding area? Yes, I have. And as an entertainment
industry expert, what type of risk assessment, in your opinion, should have been performed by
bank vault? Typically, a risk assessment for an indoor facility consists of human-related risks.
You know, what are the potential risks of people being in the facility, potential risk of people
leaving the facility, that type of risk. The other two types of risk are more outdoor-related,
weather-related risks, and technological risks. But a human risk assessment is typically what
would be done in this particular case. Have you seen anything to indicate an
appropriate risk assessment was completed? I have not seen anything. And as an
entertainment industry expert, do you have an opinion regarding the
appropriateness of bankroll for this facility? Yes, I do have that an opinion.
Yes, I do have an opinion.
And state that for the board, please.
And state that for the board, please.
Absolutely.
To me, and again, in much of the documentation I have read, the facility is referred to as a restaurant.
In my opinion, in some of the documentation that comes from articles that were written, it is more than just a restaurant.
It's referred to in many ways as a, quote, from Philadelphia Inquirer, a sports and entertainment venue.
To me, a sports and entertainment venue is different than a restaurant.
This certainly includes a restaurant, and I have a great deal of respect for Mr. Starr
and what he does with his restaurants.
But this is more than just a restaurant.
This is, again, a sports and entertainment venue.
And is this appropriate for this location?
In my opinion, it is not appropriate for this location.
It's a highly residential, highly trafficked location.
I think it would cause, again, opinion.
I think it would cause undue traffic issues, potential security issues, potential safety issues to the residents in the area.
And did you see the memorandum agreement that Bankwell had entered into with several nearby property owners?
Yes, I did.
And does this MOA adequately protect the nearby residents?
In my opinion, it does not.
And why not?
Again, to echo those similar kinds of conversations, I do think as an entertainment venue of this nature, I do think it increases risk to the residents.
I think it increases risk, traffic concerns.
I think it's potential risk to the residents of William Penhouse with regard to the accessibility of the emergency area.
So I do not...
No, no, Jack, that's traffic engineering issue.