Proposal for Ads Adorning Inside Pru Skybridge Comes Back before NABB Committee

By Dan Murphy

The Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay (NABB) Licensing and Building Use Committee heard a revised proposal for the installation of removable, adhesive advertising decals on both sides of the pedestrian skybridge that connects Copley Place and the Prudential Mall at the committee’s monthly meeting held virtually on Jan. 5.

?The translucent decals, spanning 60-feet wide by 8-feet high, would adorn only the inside of six panes of glass in the center portion on both sides of the three-section bridge, said Jeff Drago, an attorney for the applicant, while the upper skylight portions of the bridge would remain free from decals.

?As proposed, the advertising decals would require no additional mechanicals, lighting, or illumination, added Drago, while the decals would be translucent, so they are expected to have no visual impact at night per a glare study.

Drago noted that other advertising elements, including existing, upright panels, are already a fixture of the skywalk.

?When this matter previously came before the committee at its monthly meeting held virtually on May 5 of last year, a representative for the Manhattan-based outdoor advertising firm, New Tradition Media, said that company intended to enter into a 10-year agreement with Copley Place, landlord of the skyway, with a five-year option to renew.

?Drago said the applicant decided to defer the project at that time amid mounting community concerns, however. (NABB opposed the application then, said Conrad Armstrong, chair of its LBU Committee.)

?The new advertising proposal is different from before in two ways, said Drago, including first, that the applicant has agreed to not permit advertising for alcoholic beverages in accordance with NABB’s previous request. (State regulations already ban advertising for tobacco and cannabis products, noted Armstrong.)

?The applicant expects that stores from within the mall would account for renting most of the advertising space, said Drago, while potential advertisers would need to agree to a commitment of at least one month.

?In a second departure from the earlier proposal, Copley Place has now agreed to allow pro bono use of one electronic kiosk within the mall for two weeks out of each month to promote local nonprofits, civic organizations, and cultural institutions on a rotating basis, added Drago, while separately, New Tradition Media would also offer free advertising to the city and state to promote upcoming events.

?For the project to  move forward, it would require a zoning variance from the city’s Inspectional Services Department and then the approval of the MassDOT (Massachusetts Department of Transportation) Office of Outdoor Advertising for content and to ensure that ads adhere to state regulations, said Drago.

?Elliott Laffer, former committee chair and a longtime NABB member who had previously expressed significant safety concerns with the proposal, continued to oppose this application.

?Laffer said he believes the proposed signage could prove not only dangerously distracting to drivers but also set a bad precedent for advertising on other nearby bridges.

Likewise, City Councilor Ed Flynn said he has met with project team and continues to have “significant concerns,” which he outlined in an opposition letter last November.

?Councilor Flynn, who was sworn in for another term in office earlier on Jan. 5, said while he only represents a small portion of the Back Bay, he would continue to oppose a proposal that has garnered opposition from NABB and from the residential community. He added, however, he’d be “willing to compromise,” but only if the Back Bay residential community came around to the proposal first.

?In another matter, representatives for Trident Bookstore at 338 Newbury St. outlined the longstanding business’s proposal to upgrade its existing beer-and-wine to a full liquor license.

?An upgraded liquor license would allow Trident to offer specialty cocktails in its new private event space and during regularly scheduled public and private events, as well as to offer Bloody Marys during brunch, said Michael Lemanski, general manager.

?Trident already has a counter space, with a few beers on tap, but Lemanski insisted this space would remain devoted mainly to tea and expresso drinks.

“We’re not looking for a bar atmosphere,” said Lemanski, who added that the establishment has had a beer, wine, and cordials license for many years. “We just might be able to make our events that much better [with a full liquor license].”

?If a full-liquor license is granted to the business, Trident would continue to keep its current daily hours of 8  a.m. to 10  p.m., said Lemanski. (While Trident has a midnight closing time per its license with the city, Lemanski added the business has been closing at 10 p.m., due to typical inactivity at later hours on Newbury Street.)

?As for the anticipated timing, Lemanski said it’s his understanding that the city is now “fast-tracking” these license upgrades, although he couldn’t ascertain a “firm answer” as to when this would happen.

?Per another application, Life Time Club & Fitness Center, a private gym at the Prudential Center, also intends to upgrade to a full liquor license.?

?The Back Bay outpost of Minnesota-based Life Time opened in October and spans nearly 60,000 square feet across the retail spaces formerly occupied by Boston Sports Club and Barnes & Noble.

?When representatives from Life Time previously appeared at the committee’s monthly meeting held virtually on April 7 of last year, they were then seeking only a beer, wine, and cordials license from the city for its private second-floor café and lounge, which is open only to members and their guests, as well as for pop-up events, held either in studios or in other parts of the gym. (Armstrong noted the committee didn’t oppose the initial application.)

?Helen Loc, café leader for Life Time at the Prudential Center, cited a “strong demand” for a liquor license at the café since it first opened.

?Jon Aieta, an attorney for the applicant, said other area Life Time locations, such as in nearby Chestnut Hill, Newton, Burlington, and Peabody, already offer full liquor licenses in their respective private cafes.

?If a full liquor license is granted by the city for the Pru location, the café’s closing hours of 8 p.m. on weekdays and 5 p.m. on weekends would remain the same, although Aieta said that the business intends to keep its allowable midnight closing time for events.

Armstrong told the applicant he would inform them of NABB’s position on their respective applications with the city (i.e. to oppose or not oppose them) “early next week.”