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Neighbors press board over rear-yard egress, ventilation and late hours at proposed NADC Burger
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Summary
Residents told Community Board 2 the backyard plan for NADC Burger at 23Cleveland Place raises fire-safety and odor risks, while the applicant offered to limit outdoor hours and remove exterior speakers as part of a compromise.
A Community Board 2 licensing hearing on the NADC Burger beer-and-wine application turned into an extended neighborhood safety review after residents pressed the applicant on emergency egress, kitchen venting and hours.
Attorney Phil Doran, representing NADC Burger, told the committee the applicant has documents showing the backyard is permitted for eating and drinking and that they had revised hours downward from an original 2 a.m. request to indoor service ending at midnight and rear-yard hours ending at 10 p.m. "We have amended them to be 12AM indoors and 10PM outside," Doran said during the hearing. He also said the applicant would remove exterior loudspeakers and was willing to meet mechanical engineers with neighbors.
Neighbors led by Georgia Fleischer, president of Friends of Petrosino Square, disputed the applicants' safety claims and presented photographs they said showed blocked or modified egress paths between 23 and 25 Cleveland Place. "I continue to have serious concerns about fire safety back there," Fleischer said, urging the board to verify whether recorded egress was actually passable and recorded with DOB as the applicant had claimed. Fleischer told the committee she found a Department of Buildings decision history with an initial 2021 disapproval and a 2023 reconsideration approval that included conditions tied to recorded egress easements. She said the easement route appeared to be blocked by kitchen flues and equipment.
Committee members repeatedly pressed for clarity on the technical egress point: who would be permitted to use the route in an emergency, whether push-bar hardware and continuous access existed, and whether the applicant or the landlord carried responsibility if the route was later obstructed. Doran said the approval documents indicated the egress conditions had been satisfied but conceded the committee had a legitimate question about whether the physical route remained unobstructed; he agreed to provide additional documentation and to meet with neighbors and DOB/FDNY if requested.
The debate also covered expected backyard behavior: opponents argued that even limited outdoor hours would increase delivery traffic and noise under bedroom windows, while Doran said the operation models itself on counter-order, short-stay customers rather than an evening drinking crowd. The applicant agreed to stipulate that the rear yard would close at 10 p.m., interior service at midnight, and that no outdoor music or heaters would be installed without the board's approval.
The committee did not reach a final recommendation in the hearing; members said they would draft a stipulation package and require the applicant to provide DOB/DOT/DOB-approved egress documentation and to have a mechanical engineer discuss venting plans with abutting buildings before the board's business vote.
What's next: The board will consider a stipulation that captures the agreed hours, a prohibition on exterior speakers and heaters, a mechanical-engineering meeting with residents, and explicit certification of unmodified egress records before final recommendation to the SLA.
