Midtown Steakhouse Receives Backlash For Outdoor Seating Tent

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY – A Midtown Manhattan steakhouse received backlash on social media Monday after images surfaced of the restaurant's outdoor seating that blocked most of the sidewalk.

Images shared to Twitter by Dan Saltzstein, an editor at the New York Times, showed a white tent on the sidewalk outside Benjamin Prime Steakhouse on East 40th Street between Madison and Park avenues. A sign outside the tent indicated pedestrians should walked through covered area.

"I'm sorry, this is legal?!" Saltzstein wrote in the Twitter post.

According to city regulations, there must be an 8 foot clear path on sidewalks for pedestrians.

According to the New York Post, a City Hall spokesman said inspectors would visit the restaurant.