Hit-And-Run Truck Driver Destroys Park Slope Dining Shed, Owner Says

PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — When Michael, the owner of Bar Basic in Park Slope, checked his text messages Wednesday morning he was horrified by what he saw.

"The entire top half of our outdoor dining shed was basically ripped down," he said. "A neighbor sent me a picture about an hour after it happened."

Since then, Michael has pieced together how, according to video footage he reviewed, a truck driver destroyed his restaurant's outdoor dining structure, located on Seventh Avenue near Berkeley Place, about 5:40 a.m. Wednesday.

"Two thirds of the 18-wheel truck goes by and then whatever wide load was on the back of the truck ripped down the shed, pulling out cords that we'd hardwired into the building," he said, describing what he saw in the video footage. "It was pretty dramatic."

Reached for comment Wednesday, the NYPD and FDNY both said there is not a crash on record at 71 Seventh Avenue (where Bar Basic is located).

Michael is now looking to find the driver; primarily to seek financial support for the damages, but in part as a means of accountability.

"Luckily no one was injured but whatever they hit they didn't care enough to stop," he said of the truck driver. "It could have been a biker or someone walking across the street."

New York City drivers have smashed into outdoor dining structures in the past and injured people, in some instances fatally.

The crash also made Michael question why a large truck was in Park Slope in the first place.

"I don't know why a truck that large was going down Seventh Avenue. We never see 18-wheelers down here," he said. "Package trucks are normal but this is an enormous truck that made a huge impact on this roadway."

Most New York City streets are not part of the truck route — including Seventh Avenue — but truck drivers are allowed to go off route in order to get to their destination or to another part of the route, according to the Department of Transportation. Truck drivers are banned on most parkways in New York City, though.

Ultimately, Michael is grateful that the damage was only to the shed.

"We built this thing ourselves and we'll rebuild it," he said of the shed. "Functionally it's just a big, expensive mess for us, so it could be worse."

As of Wednesday afternoon Bar Basic, which has been in Park Slope since 2017, is open for business as usual, with outdoor dining now available under umbrellas in lieu of the sun roof-covered shed.