Community Board 2's SLA licensing committee spent substantial time on two related restaurant applications with overlapping neighborhood impacts: Upright Holdings LLC's alteration to add sidewalk and roadway seating for Latoya at 547 Hudson Street, and Nuno's application for a new Portuguese restaurant (Gallo) at 142 West 10th Street.

Donald Bernstein, representing the applicants, read a set of stipulations negotiated with the block association and committee members. Bernstein told the committee the parties agreed to maintain a 10-foot clear path on the Hudson Street sidewalk "with minimum 8 foot clearance diagonally to the large tree bed to the south," to keep roadway setups in full compliance with Dining Out NYC guidelines, and to ensure all outdoor dining remains within the business frontage. He also said equipment venting would meet New York City noise-code limits and that vent machinery would be turned off promptly at 11 p.m.; all Department of Buildings (DOB) violations would be cleared and outdoor dining would end by 10 p.m.

Neighbors and committee members focused on two technical issues. First, the New York City Department of Transportation's interpretation of a "primary building entrance" affects whether sidewalk seats must be removed near an entrance; board members asked for a firm DOT determination and for the applicant to remove or reconfigure southern-side seats if required. Second, several residents said there is an existing loud vent in the backyard at the West 10th location; Augustine Hope and other neighbors pressed the applicant to test exhaust noise and to undertake soundproofing before the build-out. Augustine said he has raised the backyard noise for years and that the applicant agreed to cooperate on testing and remediation.

The applicant offered a compromise on June opening and reduced southern-side sidewalk seating from six to four to expand the pedestrian path; he also agreed to pre-construction sound testing and to work with neighbors on insulation and vent repairs. The committee framed its recommendation as conditional: the Latoya alteration was advanced only if the applicant followed DOT/Dining Out NYC requirements and removed obstructing seats near primary entrances; the Gallo application was recommended subject to a sound- and vent-remediation plan and final, written stipulations on hours and reservation/operational limits.

Next steps: applicants were asked to submit the DOT interpretation or revised seating diagram, the Dining Out NYC registration or application (if required), a written sound-testing plan and post-installation verification, and any outstanding DOB correction documentation before the board forwards a final recommendation to the full board and the SLA.