Outdoor dining at a Queens neighborhood's restaurant row may be forced out by a new mixed-use development building, enraging residents.
The proposed development would be 12 stories tall and would replace a one-story building on 70th Road between Queens Boulevard and Austin Street in Forest Hills.
The new building would sit next to popular restaurants like Cabana, The Grill and Moca Asian Café. The street is known for restaurants with outdoor seating, the only strip where it is allowed in the neighborhood.
The proposed building would be a mix of residential and commercial space, authorities said. The developer would like to make the building 12 stories, but zoning only allows for seven stories.
The developer plans to lobby the community for approval of the full 12 stories Wednesday night at a neighborhood board meeting.
So far, neighborhood reaction has not been positive.
"It's a devastation for all of us," said Olig Kaz, owner of The Grill. "The amount of time and money I invested in this, basically my life savings here, now it's going to be all gone."
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Kaz said when he signed his lease two years ago, his landlord assured him no such development would happen.
The landlord has not responded to call from NBC 4 New York.
Outdoor seating is what drives business along Restaurant Row, and business owners are skeptical it will return after the development.
"When scaffolds are up there, it completely kills the neighborhood," said Paul Singh, who owns Aged, next to the proposed development.
"These monstrosities, maybe in the city it's good but not here," said a resident named Nico, who started a petition to stop the development.
“Unfortunately, outside dining on Restaurant Row may soon become a thing of the past. Lurking in the background are the greedy fangs of a Manhattan real estate developer,” the petition posted to change.org says.
The decision will be based on the outcome of Wednesday's community board meeting. The restaurant owners have been told construction is a year out and the developer says plans are still fluid.
