Phil Scotti

Necessary enclosure? Or foot-traffic tie-up?

Among other benefits of expanding the 122-year-old P.J.'s brand across town, the proposed West 63rd Street location would provide its proprietor with a shorter commute to work. "It would make me feel so good to have P.J. Clarke's, you know, a few blocks from my house," said the West 69th Street resident.

Yet Mr. Scotti's stated $5 million effort to bring the business to his own backyard could be quashed, he said, if the city doesn't sign off on his controversial sidewalk-seating plan. The Department of Consumer Affairs has scheduled a hearing on the issue for Oct. 30.

Mr. Scotti intends to operate an enclosed 22-table, 46-seat sidewalk café at his annointed "P.J. Clarke's at Lincoln Center," which would become the third such raw bar and burger joint in Manhattan to don the historic P.J.'s moniker.

Offering pseudo-alfresco service certainly isn't unusual for the area. In fact, the proposed P.J.'s site, which formerly housed Iridium Jazz Club, used to have an enclosed sidewalk café of the exact same size. Mr. Scotti contends that the former cafe's footprint remains exempt from current sidewalk-seating restrictions, even though this "grandfathered" section of public space hasn't actually had table service for at least six years.

Not everyone agrees.  read more »