City zoning blocks opening of Sunnyside Performing Arts Studio
The planned opening of a performing arts studio in Sunnyside failed to go to script.
Yasko Takeno-Williams, who signed a lease to open an arts studio at 43-20 43rd Ave., said her plans were thwarted after she was told by city officials that zoning rules prohibited her center at that location.
Takeno-Williams, who operates Sunnyside Ballet, planned to offer yoga, theater, ballet and dance classes primarily for children. However, her plans started to go awry after someone filed a complaint with the Department of City Planning. Supposedly, dance, ballet and similar activities are not permitted.
A lease had been signed and renovations had begun at the 550-square-foot space, a former discount store, before her plans ended.
Takeno-Williams said she will continue to operate Sunnyside Ballet out of the Sunnyside Arts Cooperative, a small space near the 40th Street subway stop at 45-08 40th Street. In the interim, Takeno-Williams will continue to search for a new, larger space.
In a recent email to parents she wrote: “It remains my wish to open a Sunnyside studio that allows everyone to grow to their full potential.”
Hi Sofia! I’m not an expert on zoning, but it looks to me like your dinner theater would fall under “Eating or drinking establishments with entertainment, but not dancing, with a capacity of 200 persons or fewer,” which is basically allowed in every commercial district in the city.
An actual theater is a bit trickier; without a variance they’re only allowed in C2 districts and up, which in Sunnyside means Queens Boulevard east of 44th Street.