‘Piazza di Belmont’ on Arthur Ave.
Area restaurants and eateries kick off long-awaited in-street dining
BY ALEX MITCHELL
The Bronx’s Little Italy expanded
just a tad as it offi cially
began doing streetside dining,
closing the iconic avenue to vehicular
traffi c late last week.
Aptly called “Piazza di Belmont,”
Arthur Avenue will be
closed to cars from 6 to 10 p.m.
on upcoming Thursdays, Fridays
and Saturdays, as well as
being shut all day on Sundays
from 1 to 9:30 p.m.
The plan to do so, which
was fi rst reported by amNew-
York Metro, had recruited the
literal street smarts of former
NYC Traffi c Commissioner
Sam Schwartz to create the
best course of action on closing
down Arthur Avenue between
East 188th Street and
Crescent Avenue.
That plan, which was ready
to come out of the oven on
Thursday, July 7 was served
with a ribbon cutting done by
Belmont City Council Member
Ritchie Torres along with
merchants and members of the
Belmont Business Improvement
District.
And we’re offi cially open
– Ritchie Torres tells me if he
is to have a celebration meal
for a new job in the upcoming
weeks it would be eaten on Arthur
Avenue pic.twitter.com/
RHFHbuoKZQ
— Alex V. Mitchell (@AMitchReporting)
July 9, 2020
While awaiting the results
of his own congressional primary,
one that Torres leads
heavily in, he told the Bronx
Times that a celebration meal
would be enjoyed on Arthur
Avenue.
“To me, Arthur Avenue represents
the highest hopes and
aspirations of America,” Torres
said, adding that he considers
the Belmont community
on the avenue to be like family
“both on a personal and political
level.”
As for the local restauranteurs,
they’re energetic to have
capabilities of expanding outdoor
seating as the city keeps
indoor dining in the freezer
for the time being.
The owner of the 101 year
old Mario’s, Regina Delfi no
says that Piazza di Belmont
is certainly a step in the right
direction — however restaurants
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need indoor seating to
once again thrive in these boroughs.
Mother nature demonstrated
a perfect example of
her point on Friday as Tropical
Storm Fay passed through the
city, sidelining just about any
NYC restaurant from serving
anything that isn’t takeout.
Citing Belmont’s close
proximity to the Westchester
border, Delfi no questioned
why restaurants only minutes
away were allowed to have indoor
seating at a reduced capacity
yet places like Arthur
Avenue in outer boroughs
couldn’t have any exceptions
made from the city.
Delfi no’s commentary
comes after losing her father,
Joseph Migliucci, the original
owner of Mario’s, to coronavirus
in April.
Like many on the block,
she’s modifi ed her restaurant’s
menu to accommodate
a more outdoorsy crowd.
Mario’s has added more
pizza-esque options in addition
to grating down other
parts of what is normally
quite an extensive menu for
the time being.
Though, it’s still downright
delicious.
It’s only a few minutes into
a streetside meal on Arthur
Avenue that a silver lining of
romance comes into play.
Suddenly, it’s a more
peaceful environment due to
the lack of passing cars and
delivery trucks; believe it or
not, even a calming breeze
can be felt while seated beneath
either an umbrella or
tent in one of the many Italian
staples that Piazza di Belmont
consists of.
Council member Ritchie Torres cuts the ribbon, opening up Piazza di Belmont
on Thursday, July 7. Alex Mitchell
2173 White Plains Road OPEN
718-931-4335
Just South of Pelham Pkwy.
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