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Neighbors press Cafe Select to remove chairs from hatch, committee reiterates no-music/no-TV stipulation
Summary
Cafe Selects application for sidewalk and roadway dining drew neighborhood complaints about tables on a sidewalk hatch, noise and an awning blocking a fire escape ladder. The owner said chairs on the hatch would be removed and agreed to the committee's stipulations including no music or TVs outside.
Cafe Selects application for sidewalk and roadway seating at Petrosino Square prompted multiple public comments about noise, seating on a sidewalk hatch and a blue awning that neighbors said blocked a fire-escape ladder for apartments above.
Oliver, identified in the transcript as the applicant for Cafe Select, told the committee the restaurant historically operated sidewalk seating and said he had not received complaints "in recent history" but acknowledged a neighbors written letter that described the operation as "one of the worst in the history of Petrosino Square." That neighbor, who lives close to the restaurant and cited young children, asked whether the business would close at 9 p.m. instead of 10 p.m.; the owner declined.
Board members pressed the applicant on tables placed on a sidewalk hatch and on whether the operation met the new 5-foot rule from the primary entrance. One committee member told the applicant the hatch seating must be removed to meet the new rules. The applicant said he would remove chairs from the hatch and operate under the updated rules going forward.
The committee reiterated standard stipulations requested for sidewalk/roadway dining in the area: no amplified music outdoors, no TVs, compliance with the submitted diagram subject to "give or take a table" for operational changes, and restrictions on smoking. Neighbors and the applicant discussed hours and layout; the applicant indicated he would keep the outdoor closure time at 10 p.m.
The record shows the committee sought clarification of an erroneous neighborhood resolution language (which Mark Fiedler of BAMRA said he would correct) and concluded the matters raised (hatch seating, awning affecting fire escape) need to be remedied by the applicant to remain compliant with the new outdoor-dining rules.
