Sometimes good fences aren’t enough to make good neighbors.
A Long Island City restaurateur claims a “moratorium” on backyard gardens has taken a bite out of the booming dining district after his bid for outdoor seating was nixed twice.
“There’s a high demand in this area for nice dining options outside,” said Alobar owner Jeff Blath. “People love coming here for brunch, but on a nice day they want to sit outside. They just go somewhere else.”
Blath, 40, offered to install high fences, ban external audio speakers and close at 10 p.m. to get approval, but his bid has been rejected by Community Board 2 twice since 2010 due to noise complaints from residents.
“We look at everything on a case by case basis,” said Joseph Conley, who chairs the board and insisted no moratorium on backyard gardens exists. “There was uproar from his neighbors directly affected.”
Long Island City is home to four eateries with backyard gardens, but the enclosed areas can create “echo chambers,” causing noise to bounce off walls and into neighbors’ homes, Conley said.
“You have a canyon back there,” he said, adding that the board has never rejected an application for sidewalk cafés, which are typically quieter.
Jonathan Sterling and Faye Hess, owners of a popular bakery, said the city also halted their bid for a backyard space after they shelled out $8,000 to build a tiny oasis.
The Buildings Department approved plans at 51st Bakery and Café and then backpedaled after receiving an anonymous complaint saying the business did not have a proper certificate of occupancy to open the garden.
“Why did they sign off on designs and a permit and now we can’t open it?” Hess said. “It doesn’t make sense.”
Agency officials told The News that the current certificate “does not authorize the property owner to extend the business into the backyard space.”
The city amended zoning rules last year to allow for sidewalk cafes in parts of Long Island City and Sunnyside where they were previously banned. There are now almost a dozen in the neighborhood.
But local leaders say there’s a struggle to balance the rapidly expanding food and bar scene with the quality of life for Long Island City residents who live next door.
“If there’s an opportunity for more outdoor space without impacting residents’ quality of life, we want it,” said Arthur Rosenfield, president of the Long Island City and Astoria Chamber of Commerce.
“Both sides are important,” he added. “Community prosperity isn’t just about businesses. It’s about overall quality of life.”
