City removes Poco's outdoor dining structures

Top 3 photos by Salim; additional reporting and photos by Stacie Joy 

On Friday morning, more than a dozen Department of Sanitation and NYPD members closed the block of Third Street between Avenue B and Avenue C to dismantle Poco’s outdoor dining structures on the SE corner of Third and B...

... the view to the west from Avenue C...

Sources on the block said that Poco, known for their crowded boozy brunches, had accrued too many violations and did not have permits for their outdoor structures — one on Third Street and three huts attached to the restaurant's north-facing wall. 

According to a local building superintendent, "they are very noisy; they make too much speaker noise." A local resident on the block witnessed the dismantling: "DoS came with sawzalls and tore it down. They have been piling up violations since Covid. We called it the 'Covid Corner.'" 

A Poco employee, who declined to give her name, said the owners decided to take down the structures. So why were the police and the Department of Sanitation there? "I don't know." The employee also said she didn't know if any citations were issued on the structures. 

Here's how Poco looked after city workers left as staff members set up for Friday's brunch service...

The lack of outdoor dining structures didn't seem to dent Poco's brunch business on Saturday afternoon...

Poco's website advertises its "legendary brunch," where $47 gets unlimited mimosas, Bloody Marys, red or white sangria, and an entrée. Thursday through Sunday nights, Poco offers a "Bottomless Dinner" — $65 per person plus tax and tip for two hours of unlimited well drinks, wine and/or beer. 

The city recently began cracking down on repeat offenders and 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.

Poco goes before City Council Tuesday for sidewalk cafe approval

[EVG photo from last month]

Several EVG readers passed along word that reps from Poco were outside the restaurant on Avenue B and East Third Street this weekend collecting signatures in support of receiving a license for their sidewalk cafe.

Last month, CB3 voted to deny the renewal of a sidewalk cafe permit for Poco, who advertises having a "legendary boozy brunch."

Here's part of CB3's lengthy denial. (You can find the PDF of the minutes from the December meeting here.)

WHEREAS, this applicant was first heard by Community Board 3 in May of 2009 for a sidewalk café permit for twenty-two (22) tables and forty-four (44) seats and was denied because the applicant conceded at that time that it had already been operating a sidewalk café without a permit; and

WHEREAS, this applicant then obtained a sidewalk café permit for ten (10) tables and twenty (20) seats; and

WHEREAS, this applicant was then heard for an alteration to extend its liquor license to its sidewalk café in September of 2009 and withdrew its application before Community Board 3 to address ongoing complaints from residents of loud noise from people and music emanating from the business which was corroborated by the issuance of a police summons for unreasonable noise in August of 2009...

WHEREAS, this applicant was then heard for a renewal of its full on-premise liquor license in July of 2015 because Community Board 3 had received complaints from residents from April of 2014 through July of 2015, about the failure of the business to oversee the sidewalk, unruly drunk patrons from the business blocking the sidewalk, excessive noise from patrons and music emanating from the business, which has an open façade, as well as from its sidewalk café, all you can drink brunch specials, the sidewalk café operating past its permitted time of 10:00 P.M., the service of alcohol at the sidewalk café after its permitted closing time and the café taking up too much of the sidewalk; and

WHEREAS, in May of 2015, the Department of Consumer Affairs issued violations against this business for its sidewalk café exceeding its permitted footprint on the sidewalk and having ten (10) too many tables when it was permitted for ten (10) tables and twenty (20) seats with a closing time of 10:00 P.M. every day; and

WHEREAS, in July of 2015 the applicant conceded that she kept the sidewalk café open past her permitted closing time and was serving patrons food and drinks at the café after its permitted closing time and that she has unlimited drink specials served with meals at brunch but stated that she had addressed complaints about her sidewalk café and patrons on the sidewalk since first being calendared for a community board meeting in June of 2015...

... and later...

WHEREAS, Community Board 3 has received additional complaints, including from an area resident and community board member, that drunken patrons block and disrupt sidewalk use for area residents; and

WHEREAS, an area resident and public community board member has observed that this café regularly exceeds its permitted size by an additional ten (10) to fifteen (15) tables, as evidenced by the attached video recordings...

On Tuesday, Poco will appear before City Council (heres the agenda) to make their case for the sidewalk cafe. Ahead of that, they are collecting signatures...

We are more than a restaurant. We are more than bottomless brunch. We at Poco, are your friends and family and we need...

Posted by Poco Restaurant & Bar on Tuesday, January 5, 2016

There are 442 signatures at Change.org as of this evening... from around the country...



In the meantime, the flyer below was spotted in the hall of an adjacent residential building...



Poco opened in March 2009.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Big word alert: From the front lines of the Avenue B brunch war

A look at the rest of the December CB3-SLA agenda for tonight

Ahead of tonight's CB3 SLA committee meeting, we've looked at four of the applicants:

• Biang!, 157 Second Ave.
• Bagel Belly, 114 Third Ave.
• Unnamed concept, 131 Avenue A
• IL Mago, 234 E. Fourth St.

So the meeting is at 6:30 p.m. in the CB3 office, 59 E. Fourth St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery.

You can find the whole meeting docket here. Otherwise, what follows are a selection of what the committee will hear tonight...

Renewal with Complaint
• Revision Lounge and Gallery (219 Avenue B Music Lounge Inc), 219 Ave B (op)

• Poco (Becaf LLC), 33 Ave B (sidewalk cafe)

CB3 recommended to deny Poco's liquor license renewal back in July. You can find the minutes of the meeting here.

From those minutes:

Community Board 3 has now received complaints from residents from April of 2014 through July of 2015, about the failure of the business to oversee the sidewalk, unruly drunk patrons from the business blocking the sidewalk, excessive noise from patrons and music emanating from the sidewalk café, which has an open façade, all you can drink brunch specials, the sidewalk café operating past its permitted time of 10:00 P.M., the service of alcohol at the sidewalk café after its permitted closing time and the café taking up too much of the sidewalk;

...and, in May of 2015, the Department of Consumer Affairs issued two (2) violations against this business for its sidewalk café exceeding its permitted footprint on the sidewalk and having ten (10) too many tables when it was permitted for ten (10) tables and twenty (20) seats with a closing time of 10:00 P.M. every day; and, this business has received eight (8) 311 commercial noise complaints between April 13, 2014 and June 25, 2015, between 3:30 P.M. and 1:00 A.M., six (6) of which resulted in police reporting that they took action to correct a nonprime ...

Poco's website advertises that they are "NYC's favorite boozy brunch."



The sidewalk cafe renewal is up for discussion tonight.

• No Malice Palace (197 Artichoke Corp), 197 E 3rd St (op)

Sidewalk Cafe Application
• Schnitz (DY Schnitz LLC), 177 1st Ave

Alterations
• Russ & Daughters Cafe (FourthGen LLC), 127 Orchard St (op/minor alt prior to opening to reflect final layout)

• Russ & Daughters Cafe (FourthGen LLC), 127 Orchard St (op/add live music once a month/display liquor bottles)

• Juke Bar (Maddsg LLC), 301 E 12th St (op/add live music)

• Turntable 50' and 60' (Vintage B Inc), 56-58 Ave B aka 235-237 E 4th St (wb/extend hours to 1am)

New Liquor License Applications
• Numero 28 (La Meridiana I LTD), 176 2nd Ave (upgrade to op)

• Villa Cemita Inc, 50 Ave A (wb/legalize alt)

Items not heard at Committee
• Akina Sushi Inc, 424 E 14th St (wb)

-----
b=beer only | wb=wine & beer only | op=liquor, wine, & beer | alt=alterations

Big word alert: From the front lines of the Avenue B brunch war

An EVG reader noted the arrival of sidewalk graffiti outside bonkers brunch spot Poco on Avenue B and East Third Street …



Per the reader: "I had to look up the word but sums it up about right. Haha."



Also…



…there's a similar message across the Avenue outside Mama's Bar…



One fed-up neighbor describes Poco as a "horror show."

"Poco is constantly crowding the sidewalk, and attracted people from many different areas to come and have a free-for-all of drinking and not realizing that we actually live here," the neighbor said.

Poco's website advertises that it has the "Best boozy brunch on the island."

Noted

An EVG reader noted this happening at Poco on Avenue B and East Third Street...