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Seen & Heard: The Roxy now has an outdoor plaza
OUTDOORS AT THE ROXY
The Roxy hotel has reopened, and with it is a new seating area in front of the hotel called Roxy Plaza. Hours are Monday through Friday, 3 to 10p; Saturday 11a to 10p; Sunday 11a to 9p. It’s an all-day menu that includes a raw bar, salads and sandwiches along with some specialty cocktails.
MINI MELANIE DELIVERED
Tribecan Diana Moss, who runs the bakery Mini Melanie with her sister, has ramped up the e-commerce side of the business to include their cake truffles plus cookie tins and the cookie cakes. They also make local delivery seven days a week. See the full assortment here.
BLUE SCHOOL ONLINE
Blue School, the pre-K through eighth grade private school with a campus on William and Ann and also on Water, has launched an online program called Blue School Connected, where they will combine both online and onsite learning. They are also offering a fully online program. The school was founded by the members of Blue Man Group in 2006 and moved to Fidi in 2011. They now have 300 students enrolled across all the grades. See more info here.
ROOFDECK MEMBER FOR THE SUMMER?
Spring Place, the members-only workspace-slash-club on Varick and Beach (actually St. John’s Lane), is offering a summer special that gives access to its private roofdeck till Oct. 15 for $487. You still have to pay for your drinks, but I love the idea of an urban country club … on Canal. Hours are 8a to 7p, and after that you get access to the restaurant at night.
SUMMER IN THE STREET?
A Summer’s Day closed in January, but they have installed curbside seating on West Broadway. (Thanks to J. for the shot.) Waiting to hear the full plan…
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Just got an email from Alumnae.. they are closing their Tribeca store on July 24.
That outdoor seating outside Summer’s Day is for Tiny’s believe it or not.
That makes sense…
If you have a tiny restaurant then you have the tiny space outside to make your outside dining. Using the public street to have restaurants have waiters running back and forth with orders is outrageous. Who is monitoring the “outside dining spaces”? Many are overextending their boundaries.
“Outrageous”? Get real. The sidewalks are bereft of pedestrians, tourists, etc. Who is being obstructed? Giant hunks of stationary metal parked at almost no cost and no revenue to the City?
I am sure the “community board” types are beside themselves watching (1) sidewalk cafes get approved pro forma without their consent, regardless of city zoning or unofficial CB precedent in giving their imprimatur and (2) outdoor liquor sales and delivery being allowed in almost every situation by SLA except where the failure to socially distance is egregious, e.g. White Horse Tavern.
Maybe the silver lining of the pandemic is the demonstration that a lot of the City administration and attendant red tape in normal times is NIMBY nonsense that kills private investment and jobs. This is the difference between “decriminalize” and “legalize.” The former allows people to go about their business. The latter involves new regulations, permits, agencies, bureaucrats, forms, etc. that burden citizens but grow the leviathan state.
Thanks for the reality check, James.
Agree with James on this, although I do understand how one could feel that these restaurants are taking over. I happen to like the outdoor dining … and who knows how it will be handled once cold weather comes. I wouldn’t call it outrageous. If their staff is willing to run back and forth, well, good for them. A restaurant like Tiny’s needs some space otherwise it will go out of business. This pandemic s no one’s fault and if the price we pay is that they set up where some other restaurant used to be, then so be it. Let it go. They need to keep their jobs.
I was so happy to see that Tiny’s is able to have space. They’re good people who work there with great food!
Personally I like the outdoor dining so long as it shuts down at 11 or 12am, and there is no music.
I don’t know what’s going to happen when it gets too cold – tented spaces? Is that any safer than indoor?
I think we all know that our local businesses are fighting for survival. If we want them to have a chance, I think we ought to be more tolerant of minor inconveniences, like a bit of noise and tables and chairs on the sidewalk and street, etc. for the time being. These guys are trying to get some cash flow with outdoor dining, and this source of revenue will likely be gone when it gets too cold to do this. I really think we ought to check our fussiness at the door because none of us will be happy with a restaurant wasteland in Tribeca on the other side.
What about a TASTE of TRIBECA JUBILEE in and around Duane Park (every weekend?) where all Tribeca restaurants can serve limited menus in Duane Park with music, kissing booths with Jim Smithers, etc.? It doesn’t benefit PS 234, it just benefits the restaurants, servers, etc. Overly-tipping is appreciated.
like an Italian piazza!! Pepperoni! Moooozarella!
Dogs welcome. Cats so not welcome. Parrots and guinea pigs – case by case.
I see the expansion of outdoor seating as a positive (at least in areas where it won’t create too much noise and disturbance for residents who live above a given street). And of course the restaurant or café owners, and patrons, are expected to be good citizens and keep the areas clean. There will of course be some noise, but I’d prefer that to the noise of car horns, car alarms, and blasting car stereos at all hours.
I love the common and large pedestrian areas, streets, plazas and piazzas of Europe, the social café culture. There are many car-free areas in the great cities. Perhaps we can create a New York version of that over time. There has of course been some progress in that direction with the creation of all those seating areas on Broadway in Times Square area, etc. Some may say “that’s not NYC”, but as I see it, NYC has always been about evolving and changing and re-defining itself. Congested car culture does not have to be a defining feature of city life.
(Of course, more parks would also be appreciated…like the one proposed for the Holland Tunnel rotary. Maybe that’s an expensive dream, but it sure would be nice to have more green space in the area).
On-street parking will have to be reduced to accommodate this, and also to allow re-widening of many city sidewalks, and more bike lanes. This would create more incentives for people to walk instead of drive, and now in our “viral” times, also would allow keeping safer distances from other pedestrians.
All these policies should be thought through and decided ASAP, as we are facing a possible worse congestion problem than ever, as the city re-opens and more people than ever may choose to drive to avoid infection risks, and fear of crime on the subways, etc. How can we make sure public transit (and walking, biking etc.) is the preferred and yet still safe (in terms of both viruses and crime) way to get around?