Recipe for disaster on Arthur Ave.
BY ALEX MITCHELL
This week, mother nature will be
providing a direct demonstration of
the extreme strain of operating a restaurant
outdoors in December.
Inclement weather, such as the
Nor’easter expected to slam New
York City on Wednesday is one of
many reasons that eateries on Arthur
Avenue, the Bronx’s most iconic
restaurant district, will not even attempt
a streetside setup for the upcoming
weeks following Governor
Cuomo’s ban on indoor dining.
Specifi cally, Enzo’s, a staple of the
block along with Gerbasi Ristorante,
and local diner M & G restaurant,
have all broken down their streetside
dining setups, according to Belmont
Business Improvement District treasurer,
Frank Franz.
“Sidewalk dining is clearly on the
way out,” he said regarding the upcoming
winter months, calling the
setups neither profi table nor widely
used during weeks of cold weather.
Franz also said that after two
months of inquiry, the BID has not
been given clear guidance from the
mayor’s offi ce or Department of
Transportation on how snow plowing
and removal will operate without
damaging or barricading outdoor
fi xtures on Arthur Avenue and
citywide.
During the summer, the BID and
avenue were leading NYC in creative
approaches to outdoor dining by closing
its street to create Piazza di Belmont,
a fully al fresco dining district
open on weekends. The treasurer
said that attempting outdoor dining
in the winter would be a counterproductive
“recipe for pneumonia,” putting
both employees and patrons at
risk of illness.
Calling that open-air setup both
successful and a “much nicer dining
experience” compared to outdoor
seating next to automotive traffi c,
Franz said that it still wasn’t enough
for restaurants to profi t while holding
a mandated quarter capacity —
this second closure is feared to only
make matters worse for the industry.
Earlier in the fall, which is usually
Belmont’s busy season, Arthur
Avenue lost one of its adjacent restaurants,
MangiPasta on E. 187th Street,
the treasurer told the Bronx Times.
Critical of Governor Andrew
Cuomo, Franz sharply questioned
why so many restrictions continue to
hinder dining despite Cuomo’s report
of an estimated 1.4 percent COVID-19
infection rate coming by way of restaurants,
compared to 74 percent being
attributed to those living in the
same household.
“This should all be reexamined
with more local input from restaurants
and people in the business,
NOTICE OF SPECIAL ELECTION
O
o
York notice is here
BRONX TIMES R 32 EPORTER, DECEMBER 18-24, 2020 BTR
somebody should consider the future
too,” Franz said, adding that while
“certainly we should take all logical
precautions,” New York can not
become similar to London following
World War II.
Fortunately for the area, holiday
retail shopping has continued at a
good pace for those getting the Italian
essentials like holiday baskets and
Borgatti’s ravioli and noodle pastas
— though dining must also thrive for
Arthur Avenue to succeed as a whole,
according to the treasurer.
As for those restaurants which
have opted to combat the winter elements,
one famed business operating
inside (and now out of) the Arthur
Avenue retail market is pulling out
all the stops to continue providing a
quality dining experience.
Mike’s Deli has created and heavily
invested in an elaborate, shed-like,
open setup which is equipped with industrial
heaters and feels just about
as close to eating indoors as could be.
Greco invested about $7,000 into
the setup, which is now decorated
with poinsettia fl owers, Christmas
lights and a tree in an effort to keep
the one-of-a-kind “experience” of going
to Arthur Avenue during the holiday
season.
“We knew last year we were going
to lose Easter, but losing Christmas
is a massive loss up here for everyone
and we all feel it,” Greco told,
adding how cost ineffi cient it is to
keep electrical heaters running during
all hours of operation.
That crushing blow for the block
and New York’s tourism industry is
one that Franz fears will not be something
quick to bounce back from in a
post-COVID-19 world given the current
trend.
He also expressed concern for Arthur
Avenue’s near future if the New
York Yankees play home games without
fans in 2021 as well.
“Every Yankee game at home
packs this neighborhood to the extent
that limousines are double
parked,” Franz said, adding that no
fans would “severely impact our restaurants.”
Some restaurants won’t
attempt winter outdoor dining
The former storefront of MangiPasta on E. 187th Street in Belmont. Photos by Alex Mitchell
THE CITY CLERK
OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK
Pursuant to provisions of Section 25(b)(1) of the Charter of the City of New
York, notice is hereby given that a special election will be held in the
Borough of Bronx, County of Bronx, on Tuesday, December 22, 2020,
between the hours of 6:00 AM and 9:00 PM for the purpose of electing a
candidate for the 12th Councilmanic District. Only registered voters in this
district are eligible to vote.
For any information on whether you are eligible to vote or where your poll site
is located, please call (212) V-0-T-E-N-Y-C. TDD for the hearing-impaired is
(212) 487-5496.
The City Clerk of the City of New York