Photos by William Klayer
Workers this morning were removing the curbside dining structure on the Ninth Street side of East Village Pizza on the SW corner of First Avenue... the crew was hired by the pizzeria (this was not a city removal)...
Meanwhile, the status of outdoor dining is now in flux.
As Gothamist reported last week:
New York City is expected to set a limit on fees for restaurants seeking to participate in its yet-to-be-unveiled outdoor dining program, marking a significant victory for the restaurant industry.The plan would place a cap on licensing fees as well as a structure for annual "consent fees," the amount that restaurant owners would need to pay to rent city streets, according to multiple people privy to the discussions. They asked not to be named because they are not authorized to discuss private negotiations.Mayor Eric Adams has pledged to establish a permanent outdoor dining program, promising to address complaints about unsightly and noisy sheds that sprouted when the city allowed free use of the streets and sidewalks as an emergency measure during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Negotiations continue between the city and City Council. Per Gothamist: "Deciding whether roadway dining should run year-round as opposed to seasonally has been another closely watched debate."
And after the structure was removed... like it was never there...
Updated 3:30 p.m.
Workers also removed the curbside dining structure at Beron Beron on the NE corner of 10th Street and First Avenue (thanks for Steven for this photo)...
Yeah, another victory for the restaurants, because why should Joe Schmoe the Average Tax-Paying New Yorker actually dare to think the city would ever do anything to benefit *them*?
ReplyDeleteHopefully the fees will be so high that it won’t be worth it. These sheds have overstayed their welcome.
ReplyDeleteThank you, East Village Pizza, for doing the right thing!
ReplyDeleteAs for Adams, he is (as usual) talking out of both sides of his mouth: "... pledged to establish a permanent outdoor dining program, promising to address complaints about unsightly and noisy sheds"
Yada, yada, yada. Don't hold your breath for any of that, b/c it's Adams's usual BS.
The structure that REALLY needs to be kicked to the curb is Adams's mayoralty. Too bad we can't have a recall vote this summer.
Nice they are charging rent for using the street space. Next do cars!
ReplyDeleteThey already do.
Delete@2:43PM
ReplyDeleteI agree! I like the sidewalk sheds but they should pay and be regulated in terms of garbage and outside noise. No blasting Spotify to empty tables, or at all really. I personally would advocate for allowing mellow live music to promote jazz and culture but excessive outside noise has to be really expensive with repeat violations a hanging offense.
And 100% metered parking! I'm tired of subsidizing other people's automobile habit. If they need a car for a job then make the job pay enough to cover parking, that's business. If 9th street, for instance, is going to be a constant pedestrian choke point so a few can warehouse their vehicles then the city should be making money to pay for our inconvenience.
(I don't know if there's an official numbering system so I'll wing it) This comment references EV Grieve Flame Wars numbers 8 and 2.
"Yeah, another victory for the restaurants, because why should Joe Schmoe the Average Tax-Paying New Yorker actually dare to think the city would ever do anything to benefit *them*?"
ReplyDeleteHow does a car being there help you or anyone else?
"These sheds have overstayed their welcome."
Why? why is a car being there a better option? (it's not)
"No blasting Spotify to empty tables,"
This doesn't occur in 99% of places.
If there is a conservation to be had about blasting music to empty tables perhaps we can include the group(s) responsible for programming the Avenue B street activities to lower the music volume generally but for sure once the activities have ended. They could be better neighbors.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to make a point of only doing business with restaurants that DO NOT have any dining shed. That's my way of voting with my $$.
ReplyDeleteFor the person who wants "mellow jazz" but finds other music unacceptable, I find ALL outdoor music that's amplified to be unacceptable --- and spare a thought for the people who live above those sheds b/c THEY cannot get away from whatever music is playing --- they're just stuck with that & usually miserable due to the unwanted intrusion of noise.
I think the restaurants with outdoor music should pay a FEE to everyone who lives upstairs in that building, and also to everyone who lives upstairs in the buildings on either side of the shed.
Welcome to New York. You may have picked the wrong city to live in.
DeleteSo far, there hasn't been a single shed removal that I haven't been happy to see go!
ReplyDeletePaying taxes doesn't entitle you to free parking. Restaurants pay taxes too.
ReplyDeleteStarting to enforce noise regulations (again) would be good overall. Indoor club level systems in cafes with low frequency bass thumping at the block whenever the door is opened. Loitering ride share drivers cranking their tunes. The old school types cruising and blasting hip hop at military grade volume. Only thing that would stop any of this is ticketing and I'm not optimistic this will happen anytime soon.
ReplyDelete"Automobile habit" lmao, someone has no friends. It's a part of our transportation network, not some dramatic thing you activists like to make it out to be. Parking is needed as a public utility, but that's not even the main issue here.
ReplyDeleteHear Hear 7:28pm exactly agree 100 thanks
ReplyDeleteOutdoor dining is 50x a better use of the street than car parking. All car parking should be removed, cars should be in garages.
ReplyDelete@8:25 PM
ReplyDeleteParking may be needed for some as a "public utility" but that doesn't mean it should be free. ConEd is needed more than parking, a utility and very definitely not free.
I gain no benefit from you being able to crowd my block with your free parking, so why am I paying for it. I'll argue I do gain benefit from having an educated population, taxes for schools, and I do gain benefit from having the roads in good enough condition for deliveries, pedestrians, bicycles, car services, emergency services, mass transit. Your free parking does nothing for the rest of the city. Why is the city subsidizing it?
80% of area residents have no vehicles and have no access to curbside space storage. On 11th St between 1st and 2nd there's a Box Truck which hasn't been moved for 4 months (someone is living in it), another vehicle has been there since at least September 2022
ReplyDeleteThe sole reason for their presence has ended. The sheds are now a “land grab”. Who wants to surrender a free room. At best make it a seasonal (summer) program, rented from the city.
ReplyDeleteOK everyone, let's all take a deep breath and go over to EV Pizza and enjoy a slice - ( now if they can lower the prices that would help us pizza addicts out! HA )
ReplyDeleteThe city is allegedly stepping up its war on rats using millions of dollars to do so, but fails to accept a major reason for vermin proliferation in the city is the outdoor eating sheds.
ReplyDeleteI love the angst people suffer through over cars and parking.
ReplyDeleteWhy do you love that "angst", @12:53. I don't get it...
ReplyDelete@2:12pm: Because @12:53pm is a sadist. But I bet @12:53pm takes an Uber when it's convenient for them, b/c somehow Ubers aren't "cars".
ReplyDeleteParked cars and dining sheds can be seen as related but they are separate issues. My quibble is with restaurants that dominate the block they're on by turning the public sidewalk into a dining room with tables on both sides of the walkway, so that pedestrians have to dodge waiters and busboys just to walk down the block. At the very least, these restaurants should have to throw an annual party with free food and drink for the residents on the block, to show their appreciation for our giving up our sidewalk space for their businesses. I'm thinking in particular of Au Za'atar on 12th Street and Ave A and, around the corner, the restaurants on the East side of Ave A between 10th and 11th Streets. But there are plenty of other similar situations, where restaurants are unfairly dominating the right of way and the sidewalk, without giving anything back to residents.
ReplyDeleteThe fact the city would like to charge "rent" to these establishments but not return anything to the inconvenienced residents is typical. For that matter, we should be compensated when the city rents our blocks to a movie or TV production company. But it won't happen, in either case, because any money that might be generated this way would, of course, go straight into the pockets of one corrupt city official or another.
Parking is another story. Just my two cents but I think those who do not need to own a car -- which, by the way, is a major, expensive pain in the ass to keep in the city -- should just consider themselves lucky. If you are getting all worked up about having to look at other people's cars, as another commenter said, you probably picked the wrong city to move to. I would add that picking such arguments with your neighbors also shows undesirable, "Karen"-like tendencies.
@8:36 PM It's not looking at the cars, it's that they take up so much space. Most of the east west streets need at least one side with a wider sidewalk. If you "need" a car, and they are a major expense, then you should pay to warehouse it on the street.
ReplyDeleteObligatory EV Grieve aside: I didn't move here, I was born here. Perhaps you should consider your hometown because the rest of the US is very car friendly.
> "not return anything to the inconvenienced residents is typical"
You do understand that the city provides numerous services that keep the city functioning? You expect a personal cut for every inconvenience in this vast metropolis? Ten dollars an apartment per movie shoot? For only the apartments in front? Only the leaseholders? One per apartment or all the roommates?
What if a moving van blocks your parking space for a half hour? A payout? Free food for doing business on your block? Are only residents of the block allowed in that chow line?
Karen like tendencies indeed.