Community Board 2 approves multiple sidewalk cafes, denies Mercer Street roadway cafe pending FDNY and sign issues
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Summary
Manhattan Community Board 2’s outdoor-dining committee approved several sidewalk-cafe applications with modifications — requiring plan updates and stipulations such as no smoking and resizing storm enclosures — and denied the roadway-cafe application at 142 Mercer Street after FDNY referral and a missing No Standing Anytime sign was flagged.
Manhattan Community Board 2’s Outdoor Dining Working Group approved several sidewalk-cafe applications on Thursday evening, but denied one roadway-cafe request after safety and signage issues surfaced.
The committee voted to approve sidewalk-cafe applications for Hudson Barn Books (636 Hudson St.), Jean’s Restaurant (73 W. 11th St.), Flippers (337 W. Broadway), Lords (506 LaGuardia Pl.), Gansevoort/Coffee & Cocktails (189 Ninth Ave.) and Toby’s Estate (550 Hudson St.) subject to modifications such as updated site plans, required form boxes, and operational stipulations including adherence to Dining Out NYC rules and no-smoking requirements. Several of the approvals were recorded as “approval with modifications” and will require the applicants to submit corrected diagrams and complete missing boxes before DOT and Community Board sign-off.
The committee denied the roadway-cafe application for 142 Mercer Street (Fishbar) after members and public commenters raised concerns about narrow roadway geometry, missing parking/No Standing signage and an outstanding FDNY review. Committee members said the location’s turning radii from larger fire apparatus (described in testimony as important for area ladder trucks) and the absence of a standing restriction on municipal records made the proposed roadway cafe unsafe for emergency access while the FDNY completes its review.
Public safety and compliance obligations were prominent in multiple cases. At Hudson Barn Books, committee members noted an existing storm enclosure that currently contains seating; the Dining Out NYC rules prohibit seating inside a storm enclosure and the applicant agreed to either remove seating or reduce the enclosure’s footprint before resubmitting. At Jean’s Restaurant and other sites, the committee asked applicants to show the minimum five-foot clearance from primary building entrances and to mark Siamese/fire connections or cellar doors on revised diagrams.
Committee staff and members repeatedly urged applicants to file required municipal-expansion notices for liquor-license adjustments and to resubmit accurate, measured site plans to DOT. Several applicants committed to updating placement of streetlights, fire connections, awning disclosures and other technical boxes on application forms; staff said updates would be processed administratively rather than requiring repeated board appearances.
The committee’s decisions were taken by voice vote in the business session. Members instructed applicants to follow posted plans once approved; staff said DOT and other city agencies (including FDNY where applicable) retain final approval authority. The committee closed the meeting at about 8:42 p.m.
