UPPER EAST SIDE — David Goodside is trying to put a positive spin on the challenging Second Avenue subway construction outside his restaurant's window on Second Avenue and East 70th Street.
Goodside's Beach Café — a neighborhood staple that's been serving up porterhouse steaks, California cobb salads and lobster rolls since 1968 — now overlooks a "muck house," an unappetizing setup designed to minimize dust as it processes the soil MTA workers have been digging up for the subway.
Business has fallen nearly 30 percent, as the blasting, dust and blocked views have taken a toll on patrons' patience. But the jolt of construction pushed him "to think outside the box," Goodside said, forcing him to think of new ways to beautify the sidewalk such as by adding greenery and stringing lights to his awning.
"The lights and plants help cast a more positive vibe from inside and out," Goodside said. "People walk by now and look in our windows as if we were a new restaurant on the block. No, it's the same cozy Beach Cafe that you've known and enjoyed for the past 44 years."
But without the construction, he said, "I never would have thought to light up the awning and invest in more plants and taller bushes."
Goodside is hoping the interest will translate into his bottom line as construction for the first phase of the subway — from 63rd to 96th streets — is expected to last until the subway's anticipated completion date of December 2016.
The MTA declined to comment on the changes at the Beach Café. But officials have been trying to appease businesses in the area.
The transportation agency has been sprucing up the work sites by covering up chain link fences with "Shop Second Avenue"-branded paper and by trying to improve signage for the businesses whose storefronts are blocked.
But some owners in the affected area — which has seen at least 30 businesses close — are still hoping for incentives such as tax breaks or other financial assistance to help while they're struggling.
The MTA recently pledged to stop blasting after 7 p.m., though residents have claimed workers are still making other kinds of noise at night.
"We still have some major hurdles to clear such as the fundamentals of exposure," Goodside said. "You simply can't see us if you drive by or walk on the opposite side of Second Avenue."
Goodside also said that customers along First or Third avenues tend to avoid the subway construction along Second Avenue.
"They are avoiding the noise and distractions of the construction and opting for the more peaceful atmosphere that can be found at many restaurants elsewhere," he said.
Residents living amid the subway construction's plumes of dust and noxious odors have been worried about health hazards, with many saying they’re developing coughs and can’t open their windows or go outside for part of the day.
But MTA officials last month said preliminary findings of an air quality study suggested that traffic pollution was perhaps worse than anything caused by the drilling and blasting.
