Residents tell CB2 late‑night club on Lafayette is blocking traffic and hampering emergency access; transportation committee to review

Residents told Manhattan Community Board 2 at its May full board meeting that late‑night crowds and vehicle queuing outside Gospel, a club on Lafayette Street between Houston and Prince, are blocking the two‑lane thoroughfare and creating persistent honking and reported impediments to emergency vehicles. Board members said the Traffic & Transportation Committee will take up the matter at its June meeting.

The complaint came during the board's public session. Nina Roberts, who identified herself as a resident at the corner of Lafayette and Prince Street, said pickups and drop‑offs from limousines and ride‑hailing vehicles are creating gridlock and “constant honking” between about 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. on Thursday through Saturday mornings. “It's blocking the traffic for emergency vehicles,” Roberts said, and offered to share photographs and videos she said document the problem.

Steven Rubenstone, who said he is Roberts' neighbor, told the board the line of cars can block the artery for about a half mile and that he had seen ambulances impeded. “You definitely wouldn't believe it unless you see it,” Rubenstone said. “This is a massive problem.”

Eugene Yu, the board's first vice chair, ran the public session. Valerie Dela Rosa, chair of Manhattan Community Board 2, and other board members said the issue was significant enough to put on the calendar for the Traffic & Transportation Committee. Kean Berger, a board member speaking from the floor, said the committee will review the complaint at its June meeting and urged the complainants to attend that committee meeting with any evidence or suggested remedies.

At least one possible physical change was discussed by speakers: Roberts and Rubenstone said parked cars next to the bike lane reduce Lafayette to two lanes; they suggested removing a line of parked cars to restore a third lane, a change that would require Department of Transportation review and approval. A staff member from Council Member Christopher Marte's office — identified in the meeting as Connor — offered his card and said the council member's office could follow up with constituents.

The board did not take a formal vote on the matter at the full board meeting. The next step recorded on the public record was scheduling: the Traffic & Transportation Committee will discuss the Gospel/Lafayette street congestion at its June committee meeting, and board members encouraged residents to attend and bring photographic or video evidence.

Clarifying details recorded at the meeting include the approximate overnight window cited by speakers (about 2 a.m.–5 a.m., Thursday–Saturday), the street identified by residents (281 Lafayette Street was confirmed in discussion), and residents' claim that pickup/drop‑off activity was concentrated by the club and adjacent curb lane. Speakers said they had already spoken with NYPD and the precinct and that NYPD staff directed them to contact business licensing bureaus. The complainants said they had photos and videos available to present to the committee.

The board's recorded next step is limited to review: the Traffic & Transportation Committee will consider the complaint at its June meeting; no formal enforcement action or binding directive to city agencies was recorded during the full board meeting.