One of Manhattan’s priceless restaurants wants to permanently take out the courtyard of a nearby historic building for outdoor dining.
And the move has affected residents.
The marathon asked the local board to squeeze 24 diners and an outdoor music venue into the courtyard at 240 Central Park South, according to a 5-month document from Manhattan’s Community Board last month.
“This is an opportunistic move by Maria to use the pandemic,” said a longtime resident of the building.
Owned by former Merrill Lynch co-chairman Ahmas Fakahani, Maria is a power dining spot for celebrities and Wall Street titans.
The restaurant’s signature dish, fusilli with wine-braised octopus and bone marrow, goes for $ 38, and a glass baro riserva costs $ 260. Sarah Jessica Parker, Matthew Broderick, Beyoncé and Jay-Z are its bold-faced regulars.
The Community Board application stated that the Michelin starred restaurant wants to extend its liquor license and permanently fix 62 new outdoor seats mounted on the sidewalk during the epidemic.
If the restaurant gets approval for everything, it will be able to exclude 86 diners.
Maria caused uproar among residents last summer when she placed the table on the sidewalk of Central Park South, leaving only a narrow corridor for pedestrians and blocking access to the city’s bus stop.
The outer dining area is separated by plastic wrap.
“When I walk my dog on the sidewalk there is barely enough space,” said a resident who identified with fear of retaliation from the building’s owner, Central Park South Associates LLC, which is also the landlord for Maria Did not want to go.
“Looks like an accident is waiting to happen.”
Other longtime residents of Tony, a 300-unit building that is an Art Deco landmark, said they are concerned that outdoor flame torches installed by restaurants on the sidewalk are potential fire hazards.
While local politicians have ingested outside food during the epidemic, city council member Keith Powers, who represents the neighborhood, said the restaurant needed to respect its neighbors.
“When it has become a necessity in the last few months, outside food should be harmonized with the neighboring community,” he told the Post.
Maria would first have to seek local community board approval before expanding her liquor license.
A community board meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday, with “angry” residents stating that the post they were upset about, community board representatives, did not organize an “on-site” visit during the restaurant’s work before the meeting Was.
Altamera, the company that owns Marea, did not return a request for comment.
A spokesperson for Manhattan’s Community Board 5 said it is reviewing the application.
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