Friday, December 23, 2011

Will there be enough room for a sidewalk cafe outside the new 5 Napkin Burger on 14th and Third?

Upon hearing that the incoming 5 Napkins Burger is aiming for a sidewalk cafe at 14th Street and Third Avenue, a few commenters questioned this, uh, wisdom...

argie said...
I'm in favor of 5 Napkin Burger's existence (I've eaten at the Hell's Kitchen one and it was tasty), but a sidewalk cafe there is madness! It's already so crowded there. Hard to even wait for the light to change without getting knocked over.

Anonymous said...
The idea of a sidewalk cafe on the corner of 14th & 3rd is silly.

Anonymous said...
The idea of a sidewalk cafe anywhere in the EV struck me as absurd years ago. Now I think to each his own, even if it's a noisy, dirty, exhaust filled location. Enjoy... you idiots.

So we took a look yesterday during a non-rush-hour time... Let's assume that the space the plywood currently takes up will be close to the size of the sidewalk cafe ... (not sure if the sidewalk cafe will be on the 14th Street or Third Avenue side...



Doesn't seem all that appealing to sit along here for a meal... just imagine what this corner will be like, at, say, 6 p.m., when you add in swarms of students, Trader Joe's shoppers, pallets of Trader Joe's products, people returning home from work ...
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2 comments:

  1. Dave - EverywhereDecember 23, 2011 at 11:35 AM

    I think the whole sidewalk cafe thing is way overdone. Too many cafes on busy streets with lots of vehicle and pedestrian traffic. How enjoyable can it be when a diesel truck sits at a traffic signal or stops to make a delivey while you are trying to eat. I understand that the cafe owners use this as a way to increase their seating capacity but consumers need to take some responsibility and stop pretending that they are replicating a French village bistro experience by sitting at a table on a busy NYC street while a garbage truck rumbles by.

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  2. JillDecember 24, 2011 at 2:32 PM

    The sidewalks are "owned" by the citizens, not the restaurant owners, and residents should have a say in their usage, but they effectively don't. The DCA approves every application and then do a really shitty job of keeping the restaurant owners within their legal boundaries. There are very clear limits on how many feet there need to be for pedestrians, fire hydrant, tree pits, bus stops and so on, and the waitstaff has to serve within the boundaries (ie not on the rest of the sidewalk). They aren't allowed to have signage and so on. None of it is monitored by DCA with any regularity or follow up.

    ReplyDelete

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