City set once again to remove the curbside structure outside Pinky's Space on 1st Street

The Department of Transportation has issued a Termination notice for the "abandoned" curbside structure outside the now-closed Pinky's Space, 70 E. First St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue. 

The flyer, dated May 31, states that the owners have 24 hours to remove the abandoned structure, or the city will do it and charge the business ... 

... which never reopened after the city tore down its previous outdoor space last October. The removal of that 30-foot-long structure, which had morphed into an assemblage of paintings, furniture and plants, plus a chandelier and disco ball, exacerbated the cafe-art gallery's financial challenges. (More background here.) 

Pinky's closed after the incident to regroup with plans to reopen in early 2023. They also created a less-intricate outdoor space, which has mostly been dismantled in recent months.

In January, owners Mimi Blitz and Wesley Wobles sued the city for $615,000 for the removal "without any warning whatsoever" and "without cause, legal authority or due process," per the lawsuit. (The story was well-covered, including at the Post, 1010 WINS and PIX11.) The city told a different story, as Gothamist reported. 

A for-rent sign arrived on the storefront earlier in the spring. At the time, Wobles said in an email that the landlord would let them return if they made good on the back rent that dates to October.  

The Pinky's Space storefront is for rent on 1st Street

The storefront at 70 E. First St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue is now for rent.

However, this development doesn't completely shut the door on the most recent tenant — Pinky's Space, the cafe-art gallery that has been closed since late last fall.

Earlier this spring, the landlord took legal possession of the storefront, where Pinky's Space first opened in 2018 as a quick-serve cafe offering a variety of sandwiches served on biscuits.

Co-owner Wesley Wobles said in an email over the weekend that the landlord would let them return if they made good on the back rent that dates to October.

"She will welcome us back if we can pay back the rent in full before she rents the space," Wobles said.

The financial tailspin began for Pinky's this past Oct. 27 when the city leveled their 30-foot-long outdoor structure, which had morphed into an assemblage of paintings, furniture and plants — topped off by a chandelier and disco ball.

At the time, co-owner Mimi Blitz reportedly (per the Post) estimated they spent upwards of $50,000 on the structure and used it for outdoor dining and other events that served as the main source of pandemic-era revenue since July 2020. (Initial reports put the value at $25,000, but Blitz told the Post that the amount was incorrect because "everything had happened so fast she didn't have time to calculate properly.")

After the city took down the structure, Pinky's closed to regroup with plans to reopen in early 2023. They also created a less-intricate outdoor space, which has mostly been dismantled recently.

"We spent the last of our money to rebuild our outdoor garden right away. The electric bill came, and we couldn't afford it," Wobles said. "We have no money coming in because we shut the business down after our outdoor dining structure was torn down by the DOT."

In January, Wobles and Blitz sued the city for $615,000 for removing the curbside space last fall "without any warning whatsoever" and "without cause, legal authority or due process," per the lawsuit. (The story was well-covered, including at the Post, 1010 WINS and PIX11.)

The city tells a different story, as Gothamist reported in January.

A DOT spokesman told Gothamist that Blitz's outdoor dining structure was too far off the curb, lacked "reflective materials" and was not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. It was also covering a manhole, the spokesman said.

According to the lawsuit, Pinky's received two cease and desist orders of compliance regarding the outdoor structure and made the requested changes on each occasion. The owners claimed they were never told their structure was dangerous and would be taken down.

"There was no communication in regards to saying, 'Look, this is an imminent danger. We're going to have to just sweep it away and take it away,'" Blitz said. "So we were completely caught off guard when that happened."

Meanwhile, the financial struggles continue. One source of income: selling art and accessories via the Pinky's Space website. "The clothing line is something that we have begun since we have been locked out," Wobles said. "It's print-on-demand items designed using the art we created at Pinky's Space."

In recent months, Wobles said that he and Blitz, who have an 8-year-old son, have tried to apply for several loans, including the New York Forward Loan Fund. 

"Those applications take forever," he said. "We spent weeks working on them only to get denied, which was depressing."

Wobles said that he is on food stamps and has been visiting a church food bank to help feed his son. He said there's also a "real possibility" of being evicted from his apartment.

"The city just doesn't understand. They shut you down like that and expect you to just change everything. It's a tornado. It's not fair. It's not right," he said. "I worked my whole life as a chef in New York City restaurants and made a lot of people money. There's no reason it should be like this."

UPDATED: Pinky's Space is closed for now 2 weeks after the city removes its curbside structure on 1st Street

Photo from Oct. 27 by Lori E. Seid 

Updated: Owners Wesely and Mimi reached out to tell us that they have NOT closed for good, despite the published report. They said they are "currently in a rebuilding phase and will not be closing permanently."

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Pinky's Space, the cafe-art gallery at 70 E. First St. has closed two weeks after the city removed its curbside dining structure. And now, the owners are planning to sue the city for property damage and loss of business, Jennifer Gould at the Post reports. 

On Oct. 27, the city leveled the 50-foot-long outdoor structure, which had morphed into an assemblage of paintings, furniture and plants — topped off by a chandelier and disco ball here between First Avenue and Second Avenue. Co-owner Mimi Blitz estimated she spent $50,000 on the structure.

 Per the Post: 

"We are still devastated — we haven’t been able to fully reopen and we have to restructure our business model because 90% of our business was from roadway dining," said Blitz... 

"We had a living, breathing business here," Blitz added. "We made sure it looked good and was up to code." 

A DOT spokesperson told the Post that Pinky's Space had received three non-compliance warnings since August. 

"We had no indication they were taking the structure down, taking my whole livelihood down," Blitz said. "Some of the DOT workers were laughing at us. They took the lights, every piece of wood, and the astroturf." 

Pinky's Space first opened in 2018 as a quick-serve cafe offering a variety of sandwiches served on biscuits.

The city removes the curbside structure from outside Pinky's Space on 1st Street

Yesterday morning, members from the DOT and Department of Sanitation — under watch of the NYPD — shut down First Street at First Avenue to remove the outdoor structure at Pinky's Space, a restaurant-art space at 70 E. First St. (The first two photos are from Luke Mathews)...

... the decor of the outdoor space continued to evolve through the months... an assemblage of paintings, furniture, plants ... not to mention a chandelier and disco ball.

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...

... soon after, cars were parked where the structure stood...

In August, the city started removing dining sheds from outside closed establishments. 

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. 

DOH temporarily closes Pinky's on 1st Street

An EVG reader, who says he's a fan of the new Pinky's Space on First Street, was disappointed to find the to-go shop closed in recent weeks.

There isn't any mention of a temporary closure on the Pinky's website or social media channels.

According to public records, the Health Department closed Pinky's following an inspection on Feb. 13. In total, there are 121 violation points ... the most serious, per the DOH website: "Food from unapproved or unknown source or home canned. Reduced oxygen packaged (ROP) fish not frozen before processing; or ROP foods prepared on premises transported to another site."

According to Pinky's crowdfunding campaign:

Pinky's will be a GRAB & GO food chain offering a 7 item menu with multiple locations located in small venues (approximately 150 sq/ft) next to high traffic NYC subway stations. We will offer healthy Southern American & French style cuisine served hot and packaged fresh in vibrant packaging creatively designed for easy commute and convenient dining.

Pinky's wants to keep life simple for everyone. Food operations will be streamlined by utilizing a central kitchen to prepare and cook all food with daily deliveries to each location. A limited menu will also keep the overall system simple and efficient for both customers and personnel. Each store will be simplistic and require minimal investment. They will require a steam table, refrigerator, sink, and countertop.

With all food prepared offsite, each location can swiftly serve customers with minimal time and effort as well as minimal staff (2 per store). There's no need for expensive real estate to house kitchen space or expensive equipment to outfit each restaurant. Additional locations can also be seamlessly integrated into network operations with minimal time and expense.

Looks as if there are a few issues to address to make this concept work within the Health Department's guidelines. (Other violations included "HACCP plan not approved or approved HACCP plan not maintained on premises.")

And the reader likely didn't know about the violations given that the DOH's yellow "closed" sticker was covered up on the front door...



Pinky's opened in early January, receiving coverage on UrbanDaddy and ABC 7.

Pinky's Space now open on 1st Street

Pinky's Space is now up and running at 70 E. First St. just west of First Avenue.

Pinky's is serving a variety of quick-serve sandwiches on biscuits... as you can see from the menu on Pinky's website...



The to-go restaurant's Instagram account describes this as "French Southern fine dining cuisine out of the box and out of this world."

As previously noted, the Pinky's team is Wesley Wobles, a personal chef and cookbook author, and Mimi Blitz, who spent nearly two decades working for her mother's catering company and bakery in New Orleans.

A post shared by Cherry Velvet (@pinkysspace) on Jan 1, 2018 at 1:22pm PST

Previously on EV Grieve:
Pinky's Space bringing quick-serve food options to 1st Street

Pinky's Space bringing quick-serve food options to 1st Street

The Pinky's Space neon is up at 70 E. First St. just west of First Avenue... this will be the first location for Pinky's, which has ambitious plans to open multiple outlets near commuter hubs (here being across the street from the F stop).

Here are details from a crowdfunding campaign for the business:

Pinky's will be a GRAB & GO food chain offering a 7 item menu with multiple locations located in small venues (approximately 150 sq/ft) next to high traffic NYC subway stations. We will offer healthy Southern American & French style cuisine served hot and packaged fresh in vibrant packaging creatively designed for easy commute and convenient dining.

The Pinky's team is Wesley Wobles, a personal chef and cookbook author, and Mimi Blitz, who spent nearly two decades working for her mother's catering company and bakery in New Orleans.

Pinky's has a website here. No word on an opening date.

The space previously (and briefly) served as a gym for Marcus Antebi, the Juice Press founder-CEO who opened his first store next door in April 2010.