New operator for Caffe on the Green

From the Queens Courier:

Patrizia’s of Bayside, the former site of Caffe on the Green and Valentino’s on the Green, has found a new operator, according to Queens Parks Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski.

“We are very excited that a new concessionaire will be operating the former Valentino’s on the Green and look forward to the reopening,” said Lewandowski.

The new operator, 123 Restaurant Group is owned by George Makkos and Paul Nicaji. the pair who run the successful Battery Gardens restaurant in Battery Park. Makkos is also the operator of Terrace on the Park, located in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.

CB7 upzones homes without owners' consent

From the Queens Chronicle:

With support from the area’s city councilman and little community opposition, Community Board 7 approved plans on Monday to enlarge the former White House restaurant in Whitestone, that would increase space for a catering facility and parking.

New owner Joe Franco, who formerly operated the popular Caffe on the Green at the Clearview Golf Course in Bayside, bought the Whitestone facility at 10-24 154 St. in December. He needs to change the zoning to R3-1 with a commercial overlay from its current R2A.

The area is now zoned for single- and two-family homes, but the restaurant was grandfathered in prior to the zoning restrictions. At Monday night’s meeting at the Union Plaza Care Center, CB 7 member Frank Macchio noted that a majority of the block is already commercial.

Franco wants to enlarge the parking lot and has purchased vacant property behind the restaurant and the adjacent building. No changes will be made to the facility next door, but the long-neglected yard will be transformed to accommodate up to 120 cars there and on stackers in the cellar. There will be valet parking.

Thirty-three parking spaces are required under the zoning, so developers believe there will be little chance of patrons taking up space on neighborhood streets.

Councilman Dan Halloran (R-Whitestone) spoke in favor of the proposal, noting that Franco has promised to relinquish the restaurant’s cabaret license. “Nobody should stand in the way of responsible development,” the councilman said. “I’ve seen the plan and am comfortable with it.”

He said the restaurant, which has been in operation since 1956, is falling apart. “This is an opportunity,” Halloran added. “It will improve the quality of life in the area.”

But state Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside), who used to represent the area when he was a city councilman, sent a statement opposing the project. While in the council, Avella successfully led the campaign to downzone many areas in Queens. “This application would upzone an area the community and I sought to protect,” Avella said.

He also questioned the “questionable business practices” that led to Franco’s loss of the city franchise at Caffe on the Green.

Paul Graziano, an urban planner who worked with Avella on zoning changes, spoke against the proposal Monday night. He questioned why a variance wasn’t sought for the parcel rather than a zoning change.

NY1 has great coverage of this.

Caffe on the Green still sitting idle

From the Daily News:

Plans to renovate the former Caffe on the Green restaurant in Bayside have hit a snag, forcing the new operators to delay the opening until the winter.

The popular eatery shut down in January when the city Parks Department forced out the former operators amid reports of mob ties and sloppy finances.

At the time, the new concessionaire - the Friendship Restaurant Group - had planned to reopen by May.

But the building, once home to silent-screen legend Rudolph Valentino, has been vacant for the past eight months.

Most signs and other reminders of the old name have been removed. The new operators plan to call the restaurant "Valentino's on the Green."

Parks officials said the new operator is waiting for approvals from the Buildings Department and other city agencies for its renovation plans.

"The concessionaire now plans to be open this winter," Parks officials said Wednesday in a statement. "They discovered the need for more extensive capital improvements than were originally expected, primarily structural issues relating to the floors. The increased improvements coupled with getting all the appropriate public approvals has caused the delay."

Local leaders wanted the city to let former operator Merissa Restaurant Corp. stay until its contract expired in 2010. They said they were frustrated by the delays.