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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by John Grimes, Resident of West Village
3:22:21
·
127 sec
John Grimes, a 35-year resident of the West Village, testifies against the outdoor dining program, describing it as an "unmitigated disaster" that negatively impacts his quality of life. He opposes any changes that would loosen rules or allow year-round outdoor dining.
- Argues that the program is an illegal giveaway of public land to the hospitality industry without proper environmental impact studies
- Reports personal experiences with noise and drunken behavior from nearby establishments, despite numerous complaints to authorities
- Criticizes the aesthetic impact of dining sheds in his historic district and their contribution to sidewalk crowding
John Grimes
3:22:21
Great.
3:22:21
Great.
3:22:22
Thanks.
3:22:23
Thank you.
3:22:24
I am a thirty five year resident of the West Village, and I have experienced the impact of the outdoor dining program firsthand.
3:22:32
I actually agree with some of the comments that have been made about the program being an unmitigated disaster, but that is because, in my view, the underlying premise of the program is critically flawed.
3:22:42
While necessary during a pandemic, the pandemic is now over.
3:22:46
What we have now remaining is an illegal giveaway of public land to the hospitality industry with very little payments, notwithstanding the comments on that, and without having done an environmental impact study that would take into account the impact on the environment, including the ambience environment noise.
3:23:03
No one has talked about the environment here, really, which is astounding to me.
3:23:07
I am opposed to any change to the program that would loosen the rules or provide for year round outdoor dining.
3:23:13
From my personal experience, my quality of life has been severely harmed by this program and the associated noise and drunken behavior from the establishment of my immediate neighbor.
3:23:22
I live in a historic district and I'm required to keep my property looking as it did basically in the nineteenth century under the landmark laws, which I'm happy to do.
3:23:31
In contrast, the sheds are mostly eyesores and in my neighborhood are used for outdoor drinking, not outdoor dining.
3:23:39
I heard some comments about limited seating, but seating is irrelevant if patrons are standing around and drinking spilling out into the sidewalk.
3:23:47
These sheds are not a solution for sidewalk crowding.
3:23:50
Instead, they contribute to it.
3:23:51
I have made personally over a hundred complaints to three one one of the New York State Liquor Authority with no relief.
3:23:57
The party goes on outside my house and until recently year round.
3:24:01
I heard some interesting comments about the rules being based on bad actors, but in my experience, bad actors are allowed to pull up.
3:24:08
I also heard a lot of complaints about the new roadway setups are supposed to be removable, but as the sheds are now going back up, we see they're the same enclosed structures, which if a model can operate year round
UNKNOWN
3:24:19
Thank you.
3:24:19
Your time has expired.
John Grimes
3:24:22
Thank you.
3:24:24
And I oppose any listening the current rules.
3:24:26
Thank you.
3:24:27
Okay.