Rats, Hydrants And Red Tape: Why Bangkok Cuisine Removed Its Shed

QUEENS, NY — Community Board member Elizabeth Newtown decided to ask why a popular Forest Hill restaurant row eatery removed its outdoor dining shed and, at last week's public meeting, said she received a surprising answer from one of the managers.

"They found that a lot of rodents were taking home underneath the structure," said Newton, co-chair of the Community Board 6 consumer affairs committee. "So they decided that they would have to take it down."

But a Patch investigation into the situation at Bangkok Cuisine on 70th Road revealed a far more complicated battle to keep diners in, rodents out, and city officials appeased.

Interviews with the daughter of Bangkok Cuisine's owner Noonie and a restaurant worker reveal the rats in nearby plants were not the primary concern, but only tangential to city mandates they found contradictory and unclear.

"The reason we took down the [structure] was a letter from the Department of Transportation to remove the outdoor seating or get a fine," Noonie told Patch.

The letter came as a surprise to Noonie, who said the structure had been inspected and approved before being built at the onset of the pandemic.

Bangkok Cuisine also spoke to the Fire Department and got an okay to build a shed, even though a hydrant sits on the curb outside, Noonie said.

"We asked before we built," she said. "Then later I got the letter asking me to remove."

A Transportation department spokesperson confirmed that the agency — which manages the city's alfresco dining program — found that Bangkok Cuisine's shed did not meet its many outdoor dining regulations, but could not specify which.

"Its construction and placement did not meet Open Restaurant guidelines," the spokesperson said. "DOT had asked the business to correct the structure’s non-compliance issues to avoid a summons or removal by DOT."

Bangkok Cuisines took down the shed, but remain confused by city rules. They're not alone.
Restauranteurs citywide are struggling to understand the rules and regulations of the city's not-yet-concrete outdoor dining program, according to recent reporting from The City.

Transportation department inspections are more frequently resulting in penalties for restaurant and bar owners as the agency tries to balance the challenging work of protecting patrons and helping restaurants recover, the report notes.

To date, the department has only removed 60 outdoor dining structures citywide, most of which were abandoned, a spokesperson told The City.

Meanwhile, the rules are changing.

In February, the City Council approved sidewalk cafes across the city, as opposed to the few areas where they were allowed pre-pandemic.

And the city is reportedly hoping to establish rules and regulations for the Open Restaurants program by this fall, in hopes of making permanent a program they credit with keeping the industry afloat.

"The Open Restaurants program has saved roughly 100,000 jobs during the pandemic," said DOT spokesperson Vincent Barone. "And helped reimagine our streets for better, alternative uses beyond vehicle storage."

But for Bangkok Cuisine, the city's legislate-as-we-go modus of operandi comes with a significant cost.

The shed provided Bangkok Cuisine with an influx of diners over the summer months they likely won't see return as the road between Austin Street and Queens Boulevard is replete with options for outdoor dining.

"There's less customers now," Noonie said.

What's more, building the shed and then taking down cost Bangkok Cuisine wasn't cheap, Noonie said.

"We had to spend a lot of money to build the box and we spent money taking down the box," she said. "We want to offer outdoor seating again, and would be willing to spend money on it, but I'm not sure when they would tell us to remove it again."