May 28, 2015 By Christian Murray
The controversy deals with 12 outdoor seats.
The Dog & the Duck, a gastropub located at 45-20 Skillman Avenue, faced resistance last night from a Community Board 2 subcommittee about its application to add 12 sidewalk seats.
The bar faced strong opposition from Lisa Deller, the chairwoman of the Land Use Committee, who is also a Sunnyside Gardens resident. The addition, she said, would almost double the number of existing sidewalk seats–from 16 to 28.
“I can’t even image that people in the neighborhood would approve this,” Deller said, citing the noise and traffic that the extra seats might generate. “It seems a bit much.”
The plan would bring additional outdoor seats to the Skillman Avenue and 46th Street side of the establishment. The tables, however, would not take up any extra sidewalk space.
The bar, when it opened in 2011, offered its patrons a rear year with 30 seats. The backyard, however, was shut down after the Department of Buildings determined that the yard did not provide adequate egress. The rear yard had been used by previous restaurateurs.
With rear yard gone, Padraig Connolly, the owner, said that he wanted to provide his patrons with more sidewalk seats. Furthermore, he said, it is a way to make up the lost revenue from when the rear yard unexpectedly closed.
The committee decided not to recommend or oppose the application. Instead, the issue will be taken up at the next Community Board 2 meeting on June 4.
Deller asked Connolly to notify nearby residents of his plans. She said people who are for it or against should to come to the meeting to make their case.
“Sunnyside [Gardens] is a very quiet neighborhood and noise on the street can be controversial,” Deller said.
Meanwhile, Pat O’Brien, who didn’t put forward an opinion on the application, said: “I would rather see a good operator stay in business. When you have a good operator problems can be manageable.”
Meeting Details:
Time: 7 pm
Date: June 4
Location: Sunnyside Community Services
Address: 43-31 39th Street
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63 Comments
The D & D is a haven for hipsters who care more about being able to sit outside for hours as they natter on about nothing, and not about good service or good food. Neither can be had at the D & D. What can be had is a good floorshow as Padraig yells and curses like a steamfitter into his cellphone right in front of the customers as they wait endlessly for the bad food served by a very surly waitstaff.
More seats for D&D! Noise from an urban place of business is in line with living in an urban community.
Be a grown-up and call the establishment. Most businesses are cooperative to a courtesy phone call. “Hello, This is your neighbor. It is now 1am and the sidewalk patrons are being loud — can you please do something. Thank you”
Or noise complaints can be issued online
http://www1.nyc.gov/311/
The support for small business was a feature in the recent Woodside Herald. I support growth of small business, and I suspect that the majority of this community does. And that support means adding seats to a thriving small business. In return, management can curtail patron noise after midnight.
(And HTF did a racist mention of Indian people even enter into this thread??? Sickening.)
The Dog and the Duck is one of the best places in the neighborhood and on this avenue. They deserve to do well. Their food is pretty good in my view. I hope the CB2 is reasonable and helpful and lets them grow in good conditions.
The last thing we need is that they go down and be replaced with another sports bar with twenty TVs, we hav plenty of those already.
@anonapotomous. ..if I wanted to live with the sound of gun shots I would move to East New York. .if I wanted to live amongst dog shit and garbage I would move to Bangladesh or Haiti. .The community board should focus on educating our third world neighbors about the benefits of garbage cans and curbing their dogs…
i bet when your forefathers immigrated here, my family, who has been on Long Island since before America was its own country, said a lot of the same things about you. “Every immigrant group despises the group who arrives five minutes after them.” the only way to survive is through compassion and understanding, and it’s sad that in NYC, of all places, we’re not there yet.
Heaping abuse on someone who has done a lot of work for the neighborhood does not make your case look good.
People LIVE near and above these outdoor cafes. The HEAR the noise and loud talk of people who have been drinking. All of you who think it’s such fun to sit outside at Dog and Duck get to leave after 1 hour. The people who LIVE nearby don’t get to leave.
There already is outdoor cafe seating at Dog and Duck and Claret. Enough is enough. No to more seating.
move to the country, you’ll never have to hear the sound of people enjoying themselves again
Sick of snoopy community board
I wish them the best of luck!! I really enjoy sitting out there in the Summer!!! I just wish they would improve their food!! Not the greatest!! As for the chamber and community board… Get a life!!! I have never met a bigger bunch of power trippy, no personality, odd balls!!! I left small town life to get away from people like them!!!! They should spend more time focusing on themselves. They need it!!!
I agree! The Community Board has some freeloaders and power hunger people with too much time on their hands!
Btw food at murphys excellent and great staff
Who stopped flamenco dancing at claret ? We have cranks in this hood
Wouldn’t it be nice if Lisa Deller focused her energy on real problems in the neighborhood. .Like dog shit for example…there seems to be an epidemic of dog shit in Sunnyside and our neighbors need to clean up after their pets. A few extra seats warrants a Community Board meeting?
Dog shit? Extra seats on the sidewalk? These are the “problems” people come up with when there aren’t any real problems to deal with. We live in a wonderful neighborhood, stop complaining and get a life. So you have to walk around some dog shit, at least you’re not getting shot at. Give me a f—ing break
To all you pro gentrification people We have lived here much longer than you.
You say if you don’t like it move. I say pay us to relocate OR SHUT YOUR FACE. THIS IS OUR HOOD. WE BUILT IT AND WE WILL FIGHT FOR OUR COMMUNITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So you want a handout? Let’s just put you on welfare too while we’re at it
Opposing a couple outdoor seats is fighting for your community?? I would argue you are holding OUR community back with your antiquated view of the world.
I suppose you too enjoyed our community better during the Dinkins era when crime, graffiti ruled the day.
@ Long Time Sunnysider………You are what is wrong with this country. Pay us to relocate!?!? Clearly you aer the product of a life time of handouts and rent control/stabilization. If you owned your own place you could sell it and be PAID to relocate. You took the EASY/SAFE way out and staid in a crappy rent controlled apartment. You have been PAID enough over the years!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://email.change.org/mpss/c/mgA/SCE/t.1nf/dnGyAvQ9SIClTpHbiTvvsw/h5/W9oZwjoGX5ulRlet7FB-2BvEl3JZn39e268ObW9-2FIuBTqG5JhWiRRO1QpAqOWwfXtw77pMAjkv4oNK2KcSL9n-2Bhg10T2Q46ZjeTwQgdUPyI7RX1IwwjrSGotFz6bsoGc7MZ4MSbW0KfE4q-2BkrzuvAP-2FWrPctQYXylk6dUgEox8ezN7qQi2ZYpAT9TvyIuC0HAr6Wj4yMUaT40JYznH1jDTFHjgdYxl25Aw-2BY8Jsdev0QywZi62jxXsGahOpkR7JBHszD30qBHCRU3roye5WlRDnoAGK98FikWAiY9Xd9nX2STUD7CJf577BmnE-2FK-2BbjClVR5JfHhHQ2Fl7dkJJl2kz0b488ZLMlsU9dwBb2Fvmvm9QcELsraSpHIUAP-2BWiQv4Cz0S38L3Zywj8-2BZBJOj3mCg-3D-3D
Go dog & duck…..!!! Love the meatball sliders…..how bout brisket sliders?
I to support this gentleman in having his seats outside I wish someone would start a petition in his behalf because I would certainly sign it in a heartbeat
You start the petition, then. Voicing opinions is good, action is better.
And to the delicate little flower who “doesn’t like walking by people who are eating”…i don’t know what kind of hang-ups you have but maybe the biggest city in north america isn’t the right place for you to live. try detroit…i hear the sidewalks are PLENTY EMPTY there!
Hey,Olden Days, thanks for your response. I’m happy to clarify why I don’t like passing people eating on sidewalks. Seeing people eat expensive food outside is a harsh reminder of the disparities in this town. It’s like the homeless veterans who sleep in the park across from the White House. Something’s wrong with this picture. I’m also pretty sure Detroit has sidewalk cafes, like most cities. I accept that they exist. I just don’t patronize them. It sounds like you like them – there’s something for everyone.
well, that certainly qualifies as a hang-up. i think living in an apartment in a safe neighborhood like this is also a reminder of the harsh disparities in this town. so many are homeless, and many, many more live in dangerous neighborhoods. i will be vacating my home this weekend and moving to an underpass in brownsville, thanks for your insight.
So much for civil discourse.
i’m totally in support of D&D. but usually the only people who show up to community board meetings are the old cranks like Deller who hate everything and have nothing better to do. all us sane people have to start going and showing who really makes up this community!!
If you are going to be disrespectful of a living person, have the stones to use your own name. Anonymous insults are boomerangs, they return to source real fast.
There is a reason people say that area of Skillman is the nicest in Sunnyside–and it’s exactly because of places like Dog and Duck. We need more places like D and D to make the neighborhood flourish. There is nothing better than seeing people outside eating/drinking on a nice day. It gives the neighborhood character- in a good way.
Clearly there are some that would rather have a 99cent store that closes at 6pm everyday for “noise purposes” as opposed to a thriving business that makes the neighborhood attractive….and to me that is the definition of insane.
I am also all for D&D adding extra sidewalk seats. I have sat outside many, many times – and walk by there most nights. I’ve never experienced anything approaching excessive noise. It’s just not that kind of place. I encourage everyone to show up on June 4 to support D&D’s request.
The Dog and Duck is a great restaurant and gives the neighborhood a lot of its charm. Its the first place I take family and friends who come to visit. I plan on attending the CB meeting to voice my support!
I guess you don’t sleep across the street, huh?
These morons are making a federal case out of a few extra seats on the sidewalk? ..Incredible how petty they can be..Are they more comfortable with the elevator repair shop at 48-15 43rd Ave?..The shop is next to the White Cake Bakery. ..On a daily basis there are elevator parts strewn all over the sidewalk. .The shop belongs in Willetts Point along with the other junkyards…The Dog and Duck is an asset to the community not an eyesore
Yes, get rid of the elevator repair shop. Bring back the german butchers.
Give the man the seats.
Well, we know what you think.
This article seems to imply that a few years back Deller was all for sidewalk cafes. http://observer.com/2011/07/sunnyside-wont-rise-city-council-passes-rezoning/
I don’t like passing people eating on sidewalks but I would vote for passing this application to support this business that seems to have gotten screwed when DOB rendered a percentage of its planned dining space unusable.
Here’s a total crock of shit someone complaining about a little noise because a business is doing well enough that they need more seats. They are the only decent restaurant on all of skillman that even has outdoor seats. Now that the city allows people to sit in the cafe with pets and charges over $10,000 a year for 4 months of usage Lisa Deller has to bust balls????
If you don’t like it move out of the city to the country. I am so sick of hearing about these rags that have nothing but time to complain about restaurants and bars. You people are miserable. Find something to do. Get a hobby. Lisa Deller go have a shot and a beer and shut your mouth!!!!
This is the reason this block can’t get its wings to boost business is because of jerkoffs like the DOB and Lisa Deller.
But meanwhile every block can have some Indian running a .99 cent piece of shit store not contributing anything to anybody or streets full of garbage because theirs no trash cans to be found for a ten block span that’s ok in a historical section but extra seats in a cafe pisses you off.
I saw a racoon eat an infant in the back garden. It’s not safe back there.
I hope he put his napkin in his lap as soon as he sat down and used a knife and fork. That’s polite. And, was that it’s own infant or one belonging to another species?
What would it take to bring the back garden up to code? This is a corner lot, it shouldn’t be difficult nor expensive to provide an emergency exit.
Good point.
Yeah go after the small business man who has added a lot of positive ambience to skillman avenue, If his food is not good enough people won’t take their custom there. If it is then they will, of course if people do then other quality business’s will also want to locate here also to get on the bandwagon that an area with a good reputation attracts. Not sure where Ms Dellar is going citing the traffic problem, a lame excuse, why does she not conduct a survey with current customers to see how many drive there to eat. she would be surprised to find out most people don’t. still let the business collapse due to stifling regulations and get a dollar store or launderette replace it.
How about taking out parking spaces for the length of the outdoor seating area so pedestrians have a space to pass by without hitting a plate or tripping over somebody’s dog.
try walking by “Sean Ogs” during the day and at night — the department of building only allows a certain amount of footage for outdoor seating — well low and behold they have gone overboard with this — only one person can walk on the side walk now forget about a baby carriage — I would like to know how they are getting away with it —
If sidewalk outdoor seating exists the zoning code requires that a space of 8 feet across still be available for pedestrian foot traffic.
well it does not — there is way and I mean way less then 8 feet — go and check many people have for sure
There is PLENTY of room to walk by.
no there is not at all —
Define plenty.
Sad that bureaucrats & politicians who never really worked a real hour in their life can stifle small businesses. We don’t need to give small businesses handouts, but stop stifling them. Skillman would be horrible without these businesses.
Don’t steal my name please
Awesome!!!! Always wondered why they didn’t have more tables out front….wont have to wait as long on a sunday morning now and it won’t look so bare. hope they get it.
Seems like the necessary bribes have yet to be paid.
Are you implying CB2 is a mini-FIFA? In all seriousness, I feel for the restaurant owner, the loss of the outdoor revenue is significant. I know Lisa, the CB2 member, who opposed the additional seating and she is also reasonable. I don’t like eating on the sidewalk myself, I prefer the backyard outdoor places, and between Claret and Dog and Duck, that is quite a lot of outdoor seats within one block. I can see both sides of this issue but I ultimately side with Dog and Duck.
True, how true.
These are good people who got shafted by an overzealous apartment owner that contacted the Dept of building about the rear yard. Proper egress Really? Now your gonna deny them a way to recoup some lost revenue. No way for a small business to survive.
so you were ok with the giant tent that covered the backyard or the noise from parties that were held under the tent and other such nonsense.
nothing to do with overzealous apartment owner, but rather the whole building on that side was up in arms about the tent. putting up all that crappy looking wood afterwards sealed his fate.
I’m all for it. In fact, as a huge fan of outdoor seating (sidewalk or otherwise) and a dog owner, i’d like more seating at Claret as well. Would also love to have an outdoor seat at Aubergine Cafe too.
I 100% support Mr. Connolly’s request for me seats. This is another example of bureaucracy that constantly attempts to stifle small businesses. These are the same type that will allow a national chain to break ground on Queens Blvd but won’t let a neighborhood business grow. Support small business, support Sunnyside, support America. God Bless!
Dog and Duck should focus on making their sub-par food edible then work on the outdoor seating.
I completely agree. The food was great when they first opened and it was all downhill from there.
This is the case with all establishments from deli’s to restaurants.
Watch and see the dumpling place on 46th street double their prices and the quality will drop.