Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
Updated 12/10: The restaurant is removing its curbside dining space.
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Despite the city mandate to remove all curbside dining structures by this past Friday as part of the permanent Dining Out NYC program, the owners of Il Posto Accanto are standing defiant and keeping their structures intact at 190 E. Second St.
"We're doing civil disobedience," said Julio Pena, who has owned the well-liked restaurant with his wife Beatrice Tosti di Valminuta since the 1990s between Avenue A and Avenue B.
Pena said that not having the outdoor dining space — a heated event tent with side walls and a weatherproof vinyl top — would impact their business, forcing them to lay off staffers.
"There are places like ours that use the outdoors year-round, that are heated and comfortable," he said of his space that can accommodate 20-plus diners. "We do not want to cut the hours of our staff or lay off staff. Give us until after the holidays."
He continued, "Why do I want to do this to my staff? We're still using it even in the cold weather. People were eating here [Tuesday] night — even in the cold. Sometimes, we even have to turn the heaters down."
Pena says neighbors have called 311 to report him. On Tuesday, the police stopped by the restaurant based on one of the complaints. He said he understands that the DOT, which oversees the outdoor dining program, will visit next, but they need to give a 30-day notice before removing the structure. And that he may face a fine — of $500 on the first offense and $1,000 for each violation until the structures are removed.
Pena quickly noted that he has had no problems with the NYPD or the DOT and that he respects them and knows they have a job to do.
Still, Pena said that if the DOT comes to tear down his outdoor dining structure, he will "call a full-court press."
"I will fight that fine. I plan to fight until the very end. If I have to go before a tribunal judge, I will," he said. "Not just for me but for our staff."
As previously noted, the significant change with the new guidelines is that enclosed, year-round roadway dining structures will no longer be permitted. The revised regulations stipulate that roadway cafes must now be open-air, easily portable, and simple to assemble and dismantle.
Additionally, these establishments are restricted to operating only from April through November. Sidewalk cafes are permitted year-round.
44 comments:
Julio has created a wonderful community with his restaurant shed. It's a shame someone on that block can't accept that. I along with many others support Julio and his shed! Liberty for East 2nd Street!
I agree; Julio and his restaurant are the soul of the block and he has kept his outdoor structure impeccably clean. Unlike others on that block and elsewhere.
It’s an ugly shabby tent with graffiti all over it not exactly the Taj Mahal, do New York diners look at that and say wow that’s a great beautiful dining experience, such ambiance, I don’t know. Unfortunately, the alternative is just more cars parking there so good luck, fighting City Hall
It is clean and most of the community loves it? No problem. Places like these make a huge quality of life difference to those of us with long Covid and other health issues. I feel more isolated than ever due to health issues and the loss of the, albeit few, clean and well maintained coffee shop and restaurant shacks.
Some people just think that they are entitled.
That the rules don’t apply to them. Like most
bike riders.
This shed is completely enclosed. It offers no protection to people concerned about contracting or anything else. And if neighbors have been reporting this shed to 311, then I would suggest that the community exactly thrilled with its presence.
exactly so, using civil disobedience as an excuse is total BS
Thank you for the support
Thank you , we try.
Sorry you feel that way, but thank you.
Thank you.
We respect the rules.
But imagine if your work hours cut or you were laidoff right before the holidays.
That is not entitled like a bike rider, that is called caring about your staff.
Thank you.
Julio, Beatrice, Il Posto Acanto and the Staff deserve some consideration and grace. It’s the holidays for the Love of God! If you were the staff that would be adversely affected alongside your families, you would think with your heart and not politically or selfishly. Julio is not asking to be allowed to keep the outside seating forever. He’s asking for grace until after the holidays and not for him, but more so for his staff. Julio and Beatrice have been a staple of Alphabet City and the community for decades now. From their OG place a few doors down to here. I come from Jersey with my kids and friends for years now. It’s never anything short of a truly joyous dining experience! Would it really hurt anyone to wait after the holidays? NO! Are there so many other places and real concerns that all this energy could be directed to? ABSOLUTELY! People are very sensitive and concerned with insignificant (meaning no one is being hurt) issues, just to unnecessarily harass and bully a true gem of the community wanting to take care of his employees and heir families. Julio and Beatrice, Thank You for your kindness towards others always! God Bless You! Love You an Il Posto Acanto!!! Gina
Yeah, those new rules just came out of nowhere! Absolutely no time to plan ahead (insert eye roll)
what a goofball, NY isn't for you. it's not for your customers, for pedestrians, for aesthetes, and certainly not for your workers. NY is for cars. Stop whining so much and get out of the way of the city's true fate: a parking lot
To the owner. You knew this was coming and yet you didn't prepare ahead of time and make the tough business decisions required for an entrepreneur . Shame on you. You deserve the negative consequences headed your way!
i just witnessed the removal of a shed nearby, as expected under the floor platform it was revealed a massive amount of rat activity,
trash such as chicken bones, and other food stuff + and rat nests. this establishment is responsible to contributing to health hazards and non authorized appropriation of public space for personal gain. Who gave you such privilege? I work from Home, i don't put a tent on the street and claim "disobedience" as a right. to usurp public space. What if every pother business did that(hairdressers, bookstores, etc)best wishes for a profitable indoor business to you. Cheers
The streets are public property, in my eyes this “civil disobedience” equates to theft of spaces that belong to all of us for the profits of their business. My apartment isn’t huge and sure I’d love to claim extra square footage for myself to use, but that’s not how it works. This turned me off this restaurant for the foreseeable future.
will never eat there again
How long will the sheds stand, what if any punishment will the business get?
It’s a great restaurant but absurd that they think they can just violate the law. Alvin Bragg started this mess by saying he won’t prosecute anything under $1,000. No one pays subway & bus fares anymore, people feel entitled to steal and no one adheres to any laws. The idea that DOT will enforce anything is ridiculous. Maybe if people had to spend a night or two in Rikers they’d think differently.
go Julio go! your East village neighbors and patrons support you! enough of this bureaucratic nonsense. I am so sicknof the city hammering small business owners. go tax Amazon and Uber properly! these companies are destroying NYC and paying NO TAXES. Leave our beloved restaurants alone. it's insane that they didn't delay this until Jan 2025. enough is enough. I am glad someone is standing up. everyone loves outdoor dining and these things cost tens if thousands of dollars to build.
Sheds have been a temporary pandemic measure that lasted too long. Those of us who lived next to those sheds tolerated them long enough. They were never suppose to be a part of any long-term business plan. Streets and sidewalks are public spaces and belong to all of us. I keep seeing articles about all the restaurants that took advantage of our public spaces but nobody except my fellow neighbors in these comments talks about how horrible it was to live next to one all these years. It’s time to let go and obey the law. Enough is enough.
Have a community benefit night once a week and donate to support community charitable organizations , churches and community gardens. Give back and you will increase support for you overnight.
I ate in there the other week, this is a great clean shed. Much better than parking. Good ones should stay bad/unused ones should go.
do you realize that under that platform there's a whole rodents/spiders/worms activity going on ? Wit and see what's under that platform once it's removed. Restaurants sheds should not have any structures that cannot be cleaned and sanitized,.
Rodents I could do without, but I count Spiders and Worms on my Friends List.
I live on the block, Julio and Beatrice are great neighbors and while the restaurant isn't my favorite I'm glad that they're here and make so many people happy. I'm also in strong favor of curbside dining structures as they help small businesses, give more people opportunities to eat out, and generally make for a nicer place to live and visit. Finally, I think lower Manhattan has plenty of transportation options and car ownership doesn't need to be subsidized by providing free parking.
Having said all of that, I'm fully opposed to any business claiming public property for private use in violation of laws. Three other restaurants on the same block took their structures down last week. The city isn't saying they can't operate a shed, they just have to follow the rules. Maybe (probably) some of the rules are dumb and inconvenient, but that doesn't mean you choose the ones you like and ignore the rest. I hope they find a resolution before they start getting fined, but if they do get fined I'll have zero sympathy.
Thanks for caring about your workers and your community, Julio and Beatrice! We LOVE outdoor dining and think it should be a year-round program. Though there were some shabby sheds, the problems with the program were and are solvable. If you think outdoor dining adds vibrancy, community and inclusivity, please consider joining our campaign. https://www.openplans.org/support-outdoor-dining
I hate when business people theaten to fire employees. It happens all the time. It's not the responsibility of the public. It's yours... and so is obeying the law.
Just put in an additional 311 complaint - clearly this article was meant to garner sympathy but it just came off arrogant and entitled, putting me off to this establishment for the future. It may be divisive, but I'm glad to see many if not the majority agree. It's time to clean up our neighborhood and return the streets and sidewalks to the citizens whom they belong to. If your business is not sustainable in the space you actually rent, then you need to evaluate if your business is viable period.
All businesses had more than enough time to plan for this scenario. Many capitalized on the supposedly temporary sidewalk shed legality and now they don't want to lose the extra revenue and go back to their capacity before the sheds. Nobody wants to lose money but this should have been thought of as extra, especially after the pandemic calmed down and things returned to normal for the most part.
Bottom line, is that it's time to accept that this bonus is over. Planning should have been done long ago instead of figuring on fighting things.
Good for them that they already have a temporary tent, that can go up again when allowed in the Spring. Sidewalk tables still allowed during winter from what I understand. Fighting the City likely won't go well. And, they might need to do what every other business sometimes needs to do, - find a different location.
What a joke this guy is. You had YEARS of FREE public space, our roadways, and you have th audacity to act like something is being taken away from you? You've known for like a year that there was a deadline to finally, YEARS later, for only YOUR type of business, have to remove your restaurant from the streets. I like this spot but the entitlement is super weird, just follow the rules, you never had that tent when you opened your restaurant.
More cars parking isn't bad - in fact Julio himself has cars. I'd rather cars park considering it's the street, so people don't have to circle around or double park.
I will not be dining there anytime soon! You had four years of free real estate for your business. There were many months of advance notice of the upcoming shed-dismantling. I knew about it months ago, and I'm not even in the restaurant business. Take the goddamn shed down. And you can still apply for outdoor seating with umbrellas for next year. Stop pretending you're a rebel.
Maybe one day you’ll be on the business end of a tough decision, bud
Hi. I own the business that built Il posto’s dining deck and I live on the block. At Julio’s direction we installed rodent screens and cleanout areas at the base of the deck to mitigate rat infiltration that I have not seen installed on a single other dining platform around town. Julio and Beatriz are valued neighbors and they respect our block, unlike other establishments in the neighborhood. Thank you for your smarmy input
Your loss
It is demonstrably insane to think locking more people up in a country with the highest incarceration rate in the developed world is the answer to absolutely anything
Glad we got more snitches in the hood 🙄
Bobby G is right! Look at the City how abandond the corners looks like, you can't even sit outside anymore at Two Boots and have a slice of pizza. These new outdoor dining rules are completely insane. When does NY learn from other cities like Paris how to handle outdoor sitting? Look also at their elegant garbage bins and compare with ours: ugly oversized cybertruck bombshell type of garbage bins: are we crazy?? And for all which have noise issues: the city should have a simple rule: outdoor sitting YES BUT NO MUSIC!
I have never dined at Il Posto Accanto, but it's because there are no vegan options on the menu.
I appreciate that this place is so well-loved, but I can't sympathize with your cold-blooded capitalism in the guise of "civil disobedience."
Hopefully Caleb Ganzer won't catch wind of this.
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