Exclusive New York restaurant evacuated after fire at historic ferry terminal

A small fire on the roof of Casa Cipriani at the historic Battery Maritime Building in Manhattan sent a dark plume of smoke above the ferry plaza on Saturday.

The New York City Fire Department responded to a fire inside an air-conditioning unit on the roof of the exclusive club and dining destination on the top floor of the 47-room Casa Cipriani hotel at roughly 3.51pm on 24 September.

Some flames extended from the unit to an adjoining machinery room, according to a department spokesperson, and eagle-eyed New Yorkers posted videos across social media showing the smoke billowing above lower Manhattan.

Video taken by The Independent journalist Dave MacLean showed a crowd evacuating the building as firefighters arrived and smoke billowed overhead.

All fire was extinguished and the incident was placed under control within 30 minutes, according to the department.

No injuries were reported.

The century-old Beaux-Arts building on the southern tip of Manhattan includes three ferry slips on its ground floor for ferries to Governors Island.

It was designed in 1906 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

Casa Cipriani – part of the luxury Cipriani namesake with nine properties in New York City – opened in September 2021. The top floor includes a club restaurant and bar.

Ferry service to and from Governors Island from lower Manhattan was briefly delayed on Saturday as firefighters extinguished the blaze.

The island, which sits between lower Manhattan and the western side of Brooklyn in New York Harbor, is a popular 172-acre destination accessible only by ferry service from the boroughs. It is a designated national monument managed by the National Park Service, with two former military bastions built in the 18th and 19th centuries.