In an Instagram post after the removal, Pinky's wrote: "D.O.T. decided to try and destroy our business today with no warning. #just not right!!!"
It's not immediately known why the city removed this structure, which was still in use.
Per the Post last night:
The city had inspected the 30-foot shed on East First Street and First Avenue earlier this month — but said nothing about plans to tear it down...They only told her to get rid of a vending machine that “wasn’t food-related” and to pick up a trash can encroached 6 feet into the amenity zone between the shed and the sidewalk, [co-owner Mimi] Blitz said.
EVG reader Lori E. Seid shared these photos of the removal...
The city said this about curbside structures that are still in use:
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.If the city did remove this for violations, then it didn't follow its stated policy of removing and storing... as the contents and the structure were tossed into the back of a garbage truck and crushed.
24 comments:
I don’t agree with the city being responsible for removing these structures, the restaurant owners should be responsible for the removal.
30 long, perhaps 10 feet deep, that's 300 hundred "FREE" or taxpayer subsidized land for private profit. Multiply that amount times all the sheds still operating in this city.
Sure looks better with the shed gone. As a low-grade flaneur, I loved watching wonderfully eclectic NYers walk by on the street in the soft and beautiful light that bathes the streets in the late afternoon. The sheds have ruined this delightful aspect of living in this once-wonderful city.
It's not right to take down a space that was actively being used without giving the proper notice to the owner. I feel bad for the owners of Pinky's Space, who saw their shed destroyed with no warning.
Good move by DOT. Keep it coming. Get rid of all the sheds.
Agree - start ripping them all down and give us our beloved EV back
Admittedly, I am not a fan of the dining sheds anymore, they served their purpose. However, this shed was an example of a dining shed done right. It was functional, beautiful, and clearly a lot of money and love was put into it.
Next Up....PIANOS DOUBLE DECKER/COAT CHECK ROOM!!!
Off topic, abetta boiler and welding is a gem in this neighborhood. Helped my building and it’s antique boiler on many occasions. Support a local business as many have closed in recent years.
of all the ones to remove, that one was at least cute and interesting to look at.
is the kindred shed down yet? i haven't been by that block in a few weeks so i honestly don't know, but hopefully it got taken down before an actively open restaurant's shed did.
one down ten thousand to go! agree it was kinda sorta a cool shed yet it was still a shed loud and nasty rat hotel, folks on the block had ask the owners to reign in the loudness, nighttime use and and were ignored sorry the owners didn't give a hoot about their neighbors maybe this will contribute awareness to other restaurant bar and cafe owners who ignore neighbors pleas for appropriate noise levels Enough is Enough the Pandemic is over we're all back to work school and life..
I feel bad if a business truly did not have any warning about a shutdown, but that seems implausible here. Pinky's has been running a gofundme campaign to raise $50,000 since mid-September (raised $120 so far). The campaign mentions issues it's had with "governing forces" so seems like the owners knew.
The gofundme also says "Our space is often quoted as the Alphabet city version of burning man," which, lol.
@9:15am: Don't bother feeling so bad, b/c it certainly was NOT taken down with "no warning"! It seems the owner(s) have been playing the system very well for awhile, and can hardly claim not to know about this:
Five Cease and Desist Orders this year, and seven overall. (Source: NYC Open Data)
Cease and Desist 10/11/2022 03:03:02 PM
Cease and Desist 10/04/2022 10:33:30 AM
Cease and Desist 08/03/2022 12:23:50 PM
Cease and Desist 05/02/2022 02:57:58 PM
Cease and Desist 03/12/2022 02:40:14 PM
Cease and Desist 12/17/2021 11:20:27 AM
Cease and Desist 10/22/2021 01:13:47 PM
Non-Compliant 08/18/2021 04:20:21 PM
Compliant 01/16/2021 11:31:46 AM
For HIQA Review 01/11/2021 09:31:34 AM
Reset 12/22/2020 09:05:24 AM
Compliant 08/20/2020 04:49:10 PM
Under Review 08/10/2020 03:18:59 PM
Under Review 08/06/2020 09:12:45 AM
Skipped Inspection 07/31/2020 12:22:54 PM
Skipped Inspection 07/10/2020 09:48:21 AM
Non-Compliant 07/07/2020 02:12:50 PM
Now do the same with all the cars that don't pay for parking.
@11:56 - the Kindred shed still stands, collecting rats and trash.
As someone who likes dining outdoors and supports dining in the streets generally, Pinky's Space was an egregious violator of the rules.
Let's remember that Pinky's Space opened pre-pandemic in a tiny storefront as a GRAB-AND-GO place and as one commentator noted, was probably preparing food offsite. https://evgrieve.com/2018/01/pinkys-space-now-open-on-1st-street.html
Then with the pandemic, it opened up an outdoor location that extended beyond it's frontage. It used that outdoor location to effectively act as a bar, serving vodka lemonade in those NYC greek coffee cups, even though it didn't have a liquor license. It rarely served food to anyone, even though that was required at the time. It had amplified bands and wannabe standup comics that took over the sidewalk and went to 2 am or later. Basically a party on the curb (pre-COVID vaccine) for what was a quick serve takeout counter. It didn't even let patrons inside to use the restroom. Then the rats showed up next to Pinky's Space and had a field day. https://evgrieve.com/2021/06/rats-on-1st-street.html
Since early this year, it has more or less stopped doing much business all together and is basically someone's art project fantasia on the street. At least that rats abated then. Occasionally there are people having drinks in the evening but hardly ever food. Some mornings when I get up at 5 to 6 am there is a ragtag group of people who are hanging out in the space drinking. Not sure if those are customers or just people using the space.
😂
Pinkys Space brought me great joy in the pandemic! I have so many amazing memories at Pinkys. I’m sad to see this happened! The world is less pink 😭.
Really strange of the city to remove an active restaurant shed, while others sit for months abandoned. Sorry to hear it happened to them.
That one was kinda cool it's like the one that I want to exist. The restaurants are out of control taking over sidewalks and doing whatever they want, the city needs to handle it even more than this. They act with impunity especially places like lil Frankies that are making a fortune off the shared public space.
LOL @1:59 are you serious? It's part of our transportation network. You can't exactly fold up a car. It's shared public space for vehicles, not hoarded by a business. Get real.
I live on this street and the shed was a mess. Always loud music, people loitering at all hours of the night but no one ever buying anything. They were given multiple warnings and asked by tenants to lower the volume on multiple occasions. I like the sheds, but this one serves no purpose as it was just used for people to stay at all hours of the night without ever actually dining.
Jess, "It's shared public space for vehicles, not hoarded by a business. Get real." - the vast majority of New York City residents don't own a car, so who's doing the hoarding exactly?
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