Looking at The Fourth's sidewalk cafe

As you may recall back in April, several residents had concerns about the proposed sidewalk cafe at The Fourth, the ground-floor restaurant located in the Hyatt Union Square on Fourth Avenue and East 13th Street.

The matter eventually went to City Council, who OK'd a smaller, 12-seat cafe.

Anyway, the cafe made its debut the previous weekend… not really much to look at. From either vantage point.



Previously on EV Grieve:
Concern over a proposed sidewalk cafe for The Fourth on 4th Avenue (20 comments)

City Council approves smaller sidewalk cafe for The Fourth on 4th Avenue

As previously reported, several nearby residents had concerns about a proposal for a sidewalk cafe with 13 tables and 26 chairs at The Fourth, the ground-floor restaurant located in the Hyatt Union Square.

Community Board 2 issued a denial for the cafe back on March 20, even after reps for The Fourth agreed to 12 tables and 24 seats. Residents wanted the number of tables here reduced to six (with 12 seats) to better fit the space on Fourth Avenue at East 13th Street.

Flashback to our post:

With this application, they are claiming that their diners will sit shoulder to shoulder while pinned against the wall to be in compliance. Even if diners were willing to sit that way (at a very expensive restaurant), would the restaurant then turn away anyone with above average or particularly large shoulders? Of course they would not and it would not even be legal to do so. Even in the best case scenario, it is clear that this cafe, as proposed, will not comply with city regulations. There is simply not enough room for 2 persons to sit side by side on this sidewalk and be in compliance with the law. What they have proposed is impossible.

City Council weighed in on this yesterday ... and the residents were able to get the smaller 12-seat cafe, per their wishes.

"I'm still skeptical as to how they might implement it to be greedy with space," said one resident, who noted that District 2 Councilmember Rosie Mendez was "a helpful mechanism to effect this change."

Previously on EV Grieve:
Concern over a proposed sidewalk cafe for The Fourth on 4th Avenue (20 comments)

Concern over a proposed sidewalk cafe for The Fourth on 4th Avenue

There is a proposal for a sidewalk cafe at The Fourth, the ground-floor restaurant located in the Hyatt Union Square on Fourth Avenue at East 13th Street.

Community Board 2 heard the proposal for the sidewalk cafe with 13 tables and 26 chairs on March 20. Board members had some concerns about the configuration and size of the tables … as did a few nearby residents.

Some concerned residents shared a letter with us that they also submitted to CB2 as well as Councilmember Rosie Mendez's office.

Said one EVG reader:

Their proposal is laughable and preposterous in many ways. It calls for tiny, tiny tables placed perfectly next to one another on the extremely un-level sidewalk there to feign compliance with city laws. The idea that they will actually ask anyone to spend top-shelf prices to dine in these conditions is absurd.

Now let's quote from this letter, which goes into great detail about the way diners sit. Not to mention shoulders:

They have proposed six sets of (2) 19" wide tables pushed up against the wall and pushed up against each other. If these tables could be placed perfectly against each other, they would take up exactly 3'2" of space. Add to that the required 3' for a service corridor and their plan would take up every fraction of an inch available to them (based on their already inaccurate measurements). In reality, it is unrealistic to think that they could ever keep these tables pushed together.

Anyone who has dined at a restaurant knows that when 2 separate parties of 2 persons sit at adjacent tables, the tables are pushed apart (usually about a foot). The way this plan is written, if they push the tables apart by even a quarter of an inch, they are no longer in compliance with city regulations. If they had any intention of keeping the tables together, there would be no reason to request permission for 2 separate tables side by side. They would have requested only one table. They clearly intend to file the plan one way and then place the tables in a very different way.

So far we have only touched upon the size of the tables themselves and their ability to fit within the plans but let's not forget that people will be sitting at these tables and make their claimed placement of the tables impossible. This plan implies that 2 people could be sitting next to each other at this cafe, dining and enjoying cocktails and take up 38" or less of space.

The average width of a human shoulder is between 18" and 19". Even if you had people willing to sit shoulder to shoulder, touching each other, with the inside party's shoulder pinned against the wall, every time you had 2 people with shoulders that were above average, they would expand into the required 3' service aisle and no longer be in compliance with city regulations.

With this application, they are claiming that their diners will sit shoulder to shoulder while pinned against the wall to be in compliance. Even if diners were willing to sit that way (at a very expensive restaurant), would the restaurant then turn away anyone with above average or particularly large shoulders? Of course they would not and it would not even be legal to do so. Even in the best case scenario, it is clear that this cafe, as proposed, will not comply with city regulations. There is simply not enough room for 2 persons to sit side by side on this sidewalk and be in compliance with the law. What they have proposed is impossible.

And here is the proposed cafe configuration…



Those against the proposed cafe as it is now are suggesting that The Fourth reduce the number of tables to six. For their part part, CB2 denied the license. (Read a PDF of the proceedings here.) We understand that the application will now go before City Council next Thursday.

Said the EVG reader: "The City Council could potentially force changes to the plan ... It should be an interesting lesson in local politics to see how it unfolds."

Here comes The Fourth, with a crazy bed frame installation and private-label coffee

Over at the five-years-in-the-making Hyatt Union Square, signs just went up for one of the restaurants in the space on Fourth Avenue and East 13th Street.

Here's a description of The Fourth via the Hyatt's website:

Our signature Lower East Side restaurant boasts 30-foot ceilings and wide French doors for open-air dining, attracting hotel guests and local denizens alike with fresh baked bread and neighborhood appeal. The 100-seat room will offer three distinct dining areas: a café with a European style espresso and wine bar, a 24-seat communal bar and dining space, and a 45-seat full service formal dining area. Open virtually all day, The Fourth will serve traditional brasserie fare with a modern American interpretation: upscale fare with a continental flair.

Taking its name from the elegant and sophisticated right bank neighborhood in Paris, the vibe at The Fourth is Union Square meets the 4th arrondissement - a stylish place to meet for coffee, dine at the bar after a movie, or enjoy a business dinner. The wine and beverage program at Hyatt Union Square New York is skillfully designed by Roger Dagorn, MS, whose vast knowledge and approach to wine selection makes The Fourth not only a delicious place to dine, but also an intriguing place to explore the vineyards of the world.

This Lower East Side restaurant serves espresso drinks made with Café Quatrième, a private label coffee, offering various blends and roasts throughout the day for an excellent coffee experience to stay or to-go.

Repeat: "Union Square meets the 4th arrondissement."

Also, we took a look inside and spotted this hanging from the ceiling...



Maybe that's one of the hotel's specially priced courtyard studios?

Previously on EV Grieve:
Through the years with the sunlight-blocking Hyatt Union Square, opening Nov. 15