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Red Square Bricked in Tree, Cited for Building Outdoor Cafe Without Permit

By Alisa Hauser | July 3, 2014 5:28pm | Updated on July 7, 2014 6:56am
 Images of the parkway tree in front of Red Square Cafe and Lounge was "bricked in" to pave more room for sidewalk cafe seating.
Red Square Cafe and Lounge Sidewalk Patio Cafe
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WICKER PARK — The owner of a Division Street bath house once frequented by Al Capone upset some residents Wednesday — and ran afoul of the city — after he had a parkway tree's soil pit covered in bricks to make more space for a sidewalk cafe.

"These trees give the sidewalks character and then they suffer when bricked in. It's not good business," said Tom Tomek, a local Realtor and resident. 

Wednesday morning, Tomek observed workers standing next to a "bricked in" tree in front of Red Square, a cafe, restaurant and spa at 1914 W. Division St. in Wicker Park.

Tomek and Neal McKnight, president of the East Village Association, notified Ald. Moreno (1st) of the incident, which resulted in an inspector from the city's Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP) issuing a citation to Red Square's owner Alex Loyfman.

Loyfman received a citation for occupying the public way without a permit, with fines ranging from $200 to $500 daily.

Mika Stambaugh, a BACP spokeswoman, said that while Red Square Spa paid for its sidewalk cafe permit in April, a hold was placed on the permit by the Department of Revenue because he owes back taxes for his restaurant. City officials don't know how much he owes because he didn't file some tax forms.

While Loyfman said he was not aware of the hold, Stambaugh said Red Square Spa should have received a notification from her department about the hold on the sidewalk cafe permit. 

Loyfman said he plans to file the tax forms and pay any taxes he might owe.

Pete Scales, a spokesman for the Chicago Department of Transportation, said that he has not yet received information on any tickets related to the tree, however, "If they want to change the tree pit to use other materials [such as bricks] they would need to get a permit for that and would need to provide a maintenance plan and a certificate of insurance." 

Scales confirmed Red Square did not have a permit for altering the parkway tree in front of its business.

The removal of the wrought iron fences surrounding trees has been a reoccurring issue along Division Street, as bar and restaurant owners desire more space for sidewalk cafe seating and try to minimize the size of the tree pits by bricking over them.

Previously, local activists have said that that the maturing parkway trees, many of which were planted 20 years ago, may die early if the soil pits are bricked in or paved over.

Though Red Square Spa was planning to open its sidewalk cafe over the holiday weekend, Loyfman said it will not open until we "talk to everyone and are on the same page."

Loyfman said he hired licensed contractors to remove the 9-foot by 9-foot fencing around the tree and plans to replace the fencing with "a tighter fence," specifically a 3-foot by 3-foot fence.

Loyfman said the tree's soil pit was covered up "with a type of brick that lets the water through," which is  "done everywhere in city."

Lofyman said he would put the fence back up because "it was never our intention to do anything illegal and upset anyone" but takes issue with the size of the fence. 

"I will not fight the city but want to present a business case. ... My question to people that are fighting business owners is, why do you want to fight as opposed to creating a pleasant atmosphere? I have not heard yet one argument why you have to have a huge fence."

Raymond Valadez, a spokesman for Moreno, said that Moreno will be asking Red Square to restore the fence and remove the bricks.

"We as well as the neighbors are concerned about the fact they have expanded their sidewalk cafe and removed a tree fence without permission. They were told they cannot remove the fence and they proceeded anyway. We were pretty clear that it wasn't acceptable, they did not pay heed to it, " Valadez said.