Board Denies Rezoning For Outdoor Cafe At UES Mansion Diner

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — The Upper East Side community board's zoning committee turned down an application submitted by longtime neighborhood diner Mansion Restaurant to rezone its corner on York Avenue and East 86th Street to allow an open-air outdoor cafe.

Mansion applied to rezone 125 feet of East 86th Street east of the corner of York Avenue to permit the creation of outdoor cafes on the otherwise residential street. If the zoning were approved, Mansion would apply to operate a 23-table, 47-seat open-air cafe on the East 86th Street side of its business.

The zoning committee's resolution opposing the rezoning passed by the narrow margin of nine in favor, eight opposed and one abstention. Community Board 8's full board will consider the resolution during its March meeting.

Architect Steve Wygoda, who designed plans for Mansion's proposed cafe, said Thursday night that the plan follows city regulations by leaving at least 8 feet of the sidewalk between the cafe and curbside obstructions such as tree pits for people to pass. Despite this assurance, many board members thought that the cafe could result in an obstruction to people walking on East 86th Street to get to nearby Carl Schurz Park and people using wheelchairs or pushing strollers.

Mansion Restaurant owner John Philips said Thursday that the restaurant is willing to work with neighbors to address any concerns about the outdoor seating area creating an obstruction on East 86th Street. The space was previously occupied by a bike rack used by the diner's delivery workers, which was recently moved, Philips said.

"One of our reasons we're thinking of putting down an outdoor cafe is to kind of double down on our position of being members of the community and staying exactly where we are," Philips said.

Philips added that the business — which owns its building — has been offered a number of buyouts in recent year but has turned them down to remain in the neighborhood. About a dozen regular customers of Mansion Restaurant attended Thursday night's meeting to support the business.

Existing zoning regulations prohibit most businesses from establishing outdoor seating on East 86th Street with a few exceptions. A number of board members on the zoning committee including its two co-chairs, Elizabeth Ashby and Elaine Walsh, criticized Mansions' proposal as an example of "spot rezoning." By approving the application, the board would be setting a precedent for other spot zoning requests on East 86th Street, Walsh said.

Walsh reminded board members that Thursday night's vote was not on the merits of the Mansion Restaurant, but instead on re-writing city zoning rules for the block.

"This is a very serious issue that we have before us, and it's a change forever," Walsh said. "It will impact the quality of life for the residents of the community."

Board members who supported Mansions' application argued that the board should be analyzing applications like this on a case-by-case basis.

"We talk in this community board all the time about losing our small businesses and this is an opportunity to actually support a small business," community board member Billy Freeland said.

Community Board 8's next full board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March 18.