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On-Street Public Seating Could Be Coming to Park Slope's Fifth Avenue

By  Leslie Albrecht and Nikhita Venugopal | February 19, 2016 4:51pm | Updated on February 22, 2016 8:05am

 The DOT's street seats program in action on Mother Gaston Boulevard in Brownsville. A Park Slope restaurant owner has requested a similar structure in front of 63 Fifth Ave. near St. Marks Avenue.
The DOT's street seats program in action on Mother Gaston Boulevard in Brownsville. A Park Slope restaurant owner has requested a similar structure in front of 63 Fifth Ave. near St. Marks Avenue.
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NYC Department of Transportation

PARK SLOPE — A Park Slope restaurant owner wants to install a small public seating area on the street in front of his eatery on Fifth Avenue and St. Marks Avenue.

The 20-foot by 6-foot mini plaza would be on Fifth Avenue in front of SkyIce Sweet & Savory, a Thai restaurant known for its homemade ice cream.

SkyIce's owner requested the public seating area under the city Department of Transportation's Street Seats program, which has installed on-street seating in nine locations throughout the city, a DOT representative told the Community Board 6 Transportation and Public Safety Committee on Thursday night.

The Street Seats program's goal is to transform "underused streets into vibrant, social public access spaces," a DOT spokeswoman said.

The seating area would be open to anyone, not just SkyIce customers. The tables and chairs would be taken inside every night and the seating area would be in place from March through December.

Under the DOT's program, the seating is enclosed in a three-walled structure that takes up about one and a half parking spots. There's a two-foot buffer in between the structure and traffic, and two "wheel stop bars" would help prevent cars from bumping the structure, DOT representatives at the CB6 committee meeting said.

SkyIce's owner will be responsible for paying for the structure, which generally cost between $10,000 and $12,000, a DOT spokeswoman said.

The committee unanimously OK'd the proposal Thursday night. The full community board must review the plan before it moves forward.

If the street seats are installed, DOT representatives will visit CB6 early next year before the new season to get feedback on the structure. If the board feels it's not working, they can tell DOT not to install it again.