[ad_1]
- Manhattan Restaurant The Izakaya NYC has ceased construction of a two-story dining structure.
- A neighborhood group took to Twitter to demand the removal of the partially constructed structure.
- Two-story outdoor dining areas are not permitted in New York City, and construction on the restaurant has ceased.
- Visit the Insider home page for more stories.
A New York City restaurant halted construction of a two-story dining shed after a local community group and neighbors filed complaints.
On Thursday, a community group based in New York’s Lower East Side, LES Dwellers, shared photos on twitter a two-story outdoor dining area located near Manhattan restaurant, The Izakaya NYC.
While many restaurants in New York City have built outdoor and covered seating areas to accommodate diners in accordance with indoor dining restrictions in 2020 and earlier this year, the structure put in place outside The Izakaya NYC was being built to include an upper level – a move that seemed to anger some locals.
The owner of the restaurant who built the two-story dining structure said construction was halted following complaints.
LES inhabitants
With photos of the Izakaya NYC structure, LES residents tweeted: “What the hell is this? A 2 story hangar under construction!” LES Dwellers also said in the tweet that the organization has filed a formal complaint with New York City’s 311 non-emergency departments.
Yudai Kanayama, owner of The Izakaya NYC, told the New York Post that he intended to build the two-story hangar, but stopped because “people were talking about s —” .
Kanayama then decided to turn the top of the structure into “just a roof with skylights – more seats,” but that plan was also cut short, The New York Post reported.
A 311 service request status seen by Insider showed that a complaint about the Izakaya NYC’s outdoor dining structure was filed on Thursday. According to the request, the Department of Transportation – which controls the Open Restaurant program that allows outdoor dining – inspected the Izakaya NYC and ordered the restaurant to immediately remove the top platform.
“As we celebrate open restaurants, unsafe structures on our streets are unacceptable,” a Department of Transportation spokesperson told The New York Post. “DOT will demand that all dangerous structures be immediately removed. “
New York City residents walk past street-lined outdoor food tents. (The Izakaya NYC, the restaurant mentioned in the story, is not pictured here.)
Noam Galai / Getty Images
Curbed reported that residents of the Lower East Side have become frustrated with the many outdoor dining spaces placed in the neighborhood. In September 2020, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio made outdoor dining permanent by expanding the Open Restaurants program, allowing restaurants to use sidewalks and alleys as dining spaces.
On Twitter, LES Dwellers said the outdoor dining structures have contributed to an increase in noise.
“The hangars have literally turned LES into the Wild West. The party and chaos that started in the hangars and interiors continues into the streets during and after hours,” THE Dwellers said in another tweet.
—The inhabitants of LES (@LESdwellers) July 25, 2021
“Many of us don’t live in luxurious enclosed towers in the sky with soundproof windows and all the quality-of-life privileges that come with living in walled-up, self-reliant suburbs,” the community group wrote in a separate tweet. “NYC is a maze of distinct neighborhoods and what works for your area is not the same elsewhere.”
—The inhabitants of LES (@LESdwellers) July 25, 2021
Representatives for The Izakaya NYC did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
[ad_2]
Source link