Outdoor dining panel approves two sidewalk cafés with modifications amid ADA confusion and flags repeat violator

Stella Fitzgerald, vice chair of the outdoor dining working group, presided over the July 14, 2026 meeting to review four sidewalk‑café applications and field public comment on repeated noncompliance at a longtime restaurant.

The panel recommended approval, with conditions, for Sullivan Street Partners (d/b/a Varmoga) at 128 West Houston Street and for Fonda Nolita LLC at 267 Elizabeth Street. For Varmoga the group’s recommended modifications included adding pedestrian‑ramp/curve‑cut clearances (an 8‑foot pedestrian path), adjusting the café footprint to preserve a 3‑foot accessible route, removing one table to maintain the clear path, and confirming awning and manual clearance details. For Fonda Nolita the group recommended minor perimeter and table‑sizing modifications before forwarding a positive recommendation to DOT.

Gina, who identified herself as the applicant for Bonnie Restaurant LLC (Bonnie and Mott) at 238 Mott Street, told the committee she sought a three‑table sidewalk café; she said she had previously secured a Broadway café and would prefer the permanent sidewalk seating despite narrow conditions. Committee members questioned the submitted diagrams and measurements, noting a submitted sidewalk width and the presence of tree pits, signage and a mailbox that leave very little usable space. Gina said she had contacted an ADA hotline and shared guidance that accessible tables must be located on an accessible route and meet height and knee‑clearance standards.

The panel spent significant time debating how ADA accessibility requirements intersect with DOT pedestrian‑clearance rules. Committee members emphasized DOT’s 10‑foot pedestrian‑clearance expectation for some paths and questioned whether the smaller clearances shown on applicants’ plans would meet federal accessibility standards in practice. Gina said ADA staff had told her to consider the entire outdoor seating area when assessing whether equivalent service exists between roadway and sidewalk seating; committee members said DOT has not provided specific design specifications and that applicants are often left to reconcile conflicting guidance.

Norma, a member of the public who submitted photos, urged the group to deny Arthur and Sons (d/b/a Arthur and Sons NY Italian) at West 4th/Jane Street, saying the restaurant has repeatedly operated with far more tables and seats than its site plan shows (she estimated about 10 tables and roughly 48 seats) and that the operator has not complied with prior stipulations. The committee reviewed site photographs and plan inconsistencies (misstated sidewalk widths, diagonal table placement, missing perimeter barriers and extra seating on multiple facades) and discussed whether the working group should limit its review to submitted plans or take observed noncompliance into account.

After deliberation the working group voted to recommend denial of Arthur and Sons’ sidewalk‑café application on the basis of plan inaccuracies and apparent ongoing noncompliance; members answered “Aye” when the chair called the vote. The committee did not record roll‑call vote tallies in the transcript.

The group closed the meeting with a note that Fusion Catering Inc.’s roadway café application had been withdrawn earlier in the day and that it had received one new application for future review. Several members said they would pursue follow‑up with DOT and with applicants to resolve unclear design guidance and to ask applicants to supply corrected measurements and documentation before DOT makes a final decision.

What comes next: the working group’s recommendations are advisory; DOT will receive the committee’s modified approvals and the denial recommendation and will make the final determination on permits and enforcement. The committee also asked to be added to applicant email threads with ADA representatives where possible to harmonize guidance across DOT and federal accessibility requirements.