Friday, September 16, 2022

City removes the outdoor dining structure from Pardon My French on Avenue B

This morning, workers from the Department of Sanitation and Department of Transportation swooped in on Pardon My French, and removed the restaurant's curbside dining structure on Avenue B between Sixth Street and Seventh Street. (The block was shut down to through traffic during this time.) 

An EVG reader shared these photos...
A resident who lives nearby told us that the structure had been used for storing chairs and tables for the sidewalk cafe. And we don't know if the city had fined the restaurant for the space or asked them to remove it.
The city recently began cracking down on abandoned curbside-dining structures through the Open Restaurants program. 

Per the city
Having removed the initial 24 abandoned sheds, the task force has begun identifying and removing additional sheds, investigating another 37 sheds identified as egregious violators of Open Restaurants program guidelines, and reviewing complaints and summons data to identify and remove other abandoned sheds throughout the five boroughs. Sheds reported to be abandoned will be verified as abandoned two separate times before receiving a termination letter, followed by removal and disposal of the shed. 

The task force will also review sheds that, while potentially active, are particularly egregious violators of Open Restaurants program guidelines. In these cases, sheds will be inspected three separate times before action is taken. 
After each of the first two failed inspections, DOT will issue notices instructing the restaurant owner to correct the outstanding issues; after the third visit, DOT will issue a termination letter and allow 48 hours before issuing a removal notice. DOT will then remove the structure and store it for 90 days — if the owner does not reclaim it in that period, DOT will dispose of the structure.

Recent East Village removals include PocoDia, the Ainsworth and Baker's Pizza. Of those four, only Poco remains in business. 

Thank you to Concerned Citizen and Salim as well!

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Don’t stop there!!! Keep taking them down!

Anonymous said...

Hey everyone call 311 and report 342 East 6th Street. The restaurant there has been closed for 2 months and their shed is huge. Kindred I think is the restaurant. On google it says permanently closed.

Anonymous said...

Jesus Christ finally with all this shit. They gotta make the restaurants like Lil Frankies stop taking over the whole sidewalk in busy areas too.

Anonymous said...

Yes!!!

Anonymous said...

Get rid of ALL outdoor dining sheds.

Anonymous said...

Why should the city eat the cost to remove these structures?

Anonymous said...

The sheds make the city cozier and give it a better vibe at least the ones that are used. I don’t like that that’s impossible to park these days because if the sheds though.

Anonymous said...

How does one report abandoned sheds? simply call 311?

Anonymous said...

OMG. CAN WE PLEASE STOP TALKING ABOUT THIS? They actually served a purpose and they'll eventually all be demolished.

Anonymous said...

Continue to get rid of these unused sheds that are taking away parking spaces.

Anonymous said...

It’s worth the cost. It’s actually a better use of our tax money compared to how our money is usually spent foolishly.

Anonymous said...

Parking is not the only issue. It is impossible to clean the streets properly and they have become a haven for drugs users . I saw get rid of all in street . Most are very under utilized at this point .

Anonymous said...

You can also report sheds being used as storage, abandoned, too close to hydrants, etc online. Google " 311 outdoor dining complaint" for the form.
I also have reported the abandoned Kindred shed twice since its on my block. It creates a really long dark alley at night.

Anonymous said...

Glad the city is enforcing the rules for the outdoor dining program, outdoor dining keeps the city vibrant.

Anonymous said...

OMG TROLLS LOVE THIS SHIT!!! MORE SHEDS!!! LOL! LOVE THE NEW TECH CENTER ON 14TH STREET! LOVE THE HALF OFF ON THE HALF OFF. GOOD FUCKING LORD. Sheds have got go....

Anonymous said...

Trolls love the sheds. "Another empty space?" Damn where is Costco???? At.least put in a business so I feel anointed and safe. Empty buildings suck man.....
Lol.

Anonymous said...

Good riddance. I live around the corner and have seen people have sex and shoot up among other things in this shed during business hours after midnight. This is and was not the intended purpose of them. Much like many other sheds where crazy things such as this take place, finally the DOT is stepping up and implementing action. I hope more than half are removed to be honest, especially up and down on Clinton. It is impossible to walk with them invading the sidewalk. Customers won't budge and now you have people with their scooters and mopeds too clamoring for space. INSANE! What ever happened to the rights of pedestrians? And, for the record, I am not the morality police either, I could care less how others live their lives. Do what you want with whomever you wish, take as many drugs as your heart desires, but please do it in private.

Anonymous said...

It’s amazing how all of our "responsible" restaurant owners begged for and then quickly built these sheds which made them a great profit, and then just abandoned them as if they had nothing to do with their construction. Our landlords and restaurant owners don’t seem to care at all about the blight that sits on their sidewalks or in their curbs. That is, unless the Dept of Sanitation comes along and gives them a big fine. And they are even happy serving you food next to giant piles of rotting, smelly garbage. Just don’t forget to tip, and come back for the weekly bottomless boozy brunches and SantaCon.

Perfume junkie said...

Couldn't agree more about the sheds. Take. Them. Down. The one across the street from me has been taken over by teens smoking dank weed, blasting music from their wifi speakers and just loudly hanging out there until 1am. But it's more than just the sheds. Restaurants haven't gotten really greedy. They now take up the entire sidewalk, plus the parking spaces in front of their establishment. They've all nearly doubled their prices on items...it's like $30 for a burger now. It's all gotten out of control and the city has decided to just protect the restaurant industry. It's gross.

Anonymous said...

How the hell have they not ALL been ordered down yet? Clinton especailly is a nightmare to walk a dog or even yourself!