On Monday, Think Coffee debuted its new curbside dining space at 123 Fourth Ave. ... and early yesterday morning around 4, the structure was ablaze here between 12th Street and 13th Street, as these photos via EVG reader Jeanne Krier show...
No word on if the fire was accidental (errant cigarette, say) or intentional. We reached out to Think for more info.
12 comments:
During the winter I was afraid one of these places was going to catch on fire with all of the wiring and heating attached. I have also been wondering how viable these structures are even without disaster striking. Some of them are already damaged from the rain. I was looking at some of the ones on Avenue B when it was raining this morning wondering when we're going to read the first story of one collapsing while patrons are sitting inside. No one built them thinking they were going to be around long. Maybe we will see a lot of them rebuilt with waterproofing and longevity in mind.
Have you noticed the floors being torn up and replaced? - funny thing about gutters, they are designed to drain waste water into sewers and when you block that function, it builds up under the floors and rots.
The Commons need to be returned to the Public now.
This comment has nothing to do with Think Coffee specifically, but I think all these outdoor dining structures represent risks of various kinds, and I am left wondering if the restaurants or landlords are insured in that respect.
I hope by the time cold weather returns later this year, we'll have reached a point where outdoor dining structures can be done away with. No matter how nicely done, they are ultimately an imposition on everyone else.
Hopefully they are able to make these permanent fixtures and actually bring them in line with safety standards and a modified building code. The land should remain City-owned, leased directly to the businesses occupying the spaces. The first few years should be free - minimal as a way to allow the businesses that stuck it out through the past year to recoup some of their losses. Eventually the rents rise to something reasonable but fair and this hopefully induces the neighboring landlords to price their spaces accordingly. Landlords who do get a cut of the rents collected by the city; those who don't have a competitor directly in front of their building.
@5:23pm: I don't suppose you've thought through the complexities & issues that will arise if city-owned land is leased directly to the BUSINESS that runs the outdoor seating structure. This would include, immediately, making room for garbage & recycling pickups and access for deliveries to the rest of the building.
And if the business goes under, what's the mechanism to maintain the outdoor structure if the retail/commercial space indoors remains un-tenanted for 6 months to a year or more, as we frequently see around here?
Who has the legal and financial obligation to keep the outdoor structure up to code? Surely not the business that just went under! Can't get money from a business that dissolves itself legally.
Then the outdoor seating becomes an eyesore, a possible liability issue for NYC itself, and a place for various people to hang out or set up living quarters, etc.
You also, IMO, seriously underestimate what it takes to modify the NYC building code. This stuff does NOT happen overnight, but if it does, you can be sure there will be loopholes aplenty plus lots of things that were not taken into account, only to be "discovered" later and which will lead to lawsuits and injunctions. This idea would be a great bonus for lawyers, though.
NYC has never before needed permanent use of street space for restaurants. Given that Covid is (we hope) a once-a-century pandemic, there's no reason for the city to continue something that exists *only* in response to a pandemic-related business shutdown that's now over.
Give the landlords a cut of the rent on public land? I am flabbergasted.
I am the Director of CRS (Center for Remembering & Sharing), the arts and healing center that above Think Coffee. We were told by FDNY that someone set several fires in the early morning of June 2, including apparently to our bagged garbage which was curbside adjacent to Think Coffee’s outdoor dining structure that night. The fire apparently spread from our garbage to the dining structure. We were told that fires were also set on Third Ave and on 15th street. There is a security camera (not ours) in close proximity but we have not yet heard if the arsonist was caught on the camera or if he has been identified or caught. Thankfully, no one was hurt.
@1:44 pm
I also wondered how the restaurants could possibly have gotten insurance to cover street shantys. “Open streets” was made permanent without proper public discussion. “Open restaurants” will probably go that way too. Contact your local representatives Carlina Rivera, Harvey Epstein, etc. if anyone wants to voice an opinion on this to the people who make these decisions.
Christopher Pelham, thank you for posting this information you received from FDNY It clarifies that this fire was essentially due to arson, not caused by neglect on the part of Think Coffee in how they built the shed (which was very professionally done), and not accidental. It's sad to see people so quick to blame small businesses for setbacks the owners have had to deal with, especially those caused by other people's awful acts like this. Jeanne Krier
The additional outdoor spaces are awesome, and a much better use of street space than just parking. Glad they’ve been made permanent!
Outdoor spaces are WONDERFUL and should be made permanent. They add to the appeal of the city and make it feel so much more European.
DROWN OUT THE NIMBY NAYSAYERS - More people like these than don't but the naysayers are so much more vocal.
June 5 @ 1:44pm: Nope. Not interested in NYC being more like Europe. If I were, I'd have moved there, and would not still be living HERE.
BTW, the "outdoors' itself IS permanent: try a local park if you want "outdoors".
As to your claim that more people want these but are not as "vocal" as the nay-sayers: PROVE IT. (You can't prove it, b/c it's only your own opinion!)
Post a Comment