P&G’s in New Paltz. (Photo by Lauren Thomas)
P&G’s owner Mike Beck thinks it’s time to expand the “cornerstone of New Paltz,” both inside and out. In an application considered by New Paltz Village Planning Board members at their September 4 meeting, Beck is seeking to expand the cramped kitchen of the restaurant by pushing into the adjacent barbershop, as well as create a prep kitchen underneath the dining area, which presently hangs over two parking spots around back. Additional space along the bar inside would also result. As with many projects advanced for the downtown area, parking questions are central to this one.
The kitchen is “beyond capacity,” Beck said, and the space now occupied by Ricci’s Barbershop is the only place it can be expanded. Most of that space would become more cooking area, but for the street view. According to Beck, the waiting area for diners would be given more room by cutting the bar short; its corner would be farther from the front door, but its length would also extend into the new area.
Around the back, a second-floor expansion built in the 1980s for more seating is now over an open area for garbage, recycling and a couple of parked cars. Beck wants to close that in and make it into a food prep area and storage. Joseph Buglino, senior project manager of Eco Builders Inc., said he believes the overall parking situation could be improved despite the loss of spaces; he’s proposing making that section one-way-only. That could eliminate the dangerous practice of backing cars onto North Front Street. Drivers would have to proceed into another private lot off Church Street and exit there.
Beck told board members that he’s always taken responsibility for that lot, but he was in the process of formalizing that with his neighbors. In time, he added, he hopes to make improvements beyond a one-way sign to further improve the traffic flow.
“Do we want people to exit on Church?” asked board chair Eve Waltermaurer. Rich Suoto seemed doubtful, noting that while Front is already a through street, that one-way section of Church is not.
A public hearing for the proposed project will be held on Tuesday, September 18, 7 p.m., at Village Hall.
Amazing how this article gets buried on the bottom on the page instead of “front page” and “breaking” news but the greek’s building gets top billing so everyone can complain. Shows how biased this piublication is.
This is why the fire department is half a block a way. If you think the last kitchen fire was bad, wait for this one. Twelve men in the fire department, that’s 12, one dozen, not even a baker’s-dozen. What happened to the restaurant that wanted a buried propane tank? Well, “he wasn’t born here.” and he got nothin because of that.
The village should start taxing all the establishments serving alcohol to properly pay for policing of alcohol-related crimes. They make so much money selling alcohol but our taxes are way too high paying $8,000,000 for police.
Wait till you see the cost buying the police department-Miss Hudson Valley Oil Tank Removal building when the lease is up in 2019? And that’s on top of the $649,000 in rent that has been paid these last few years, plus the $2 million missing while Ms. Oil Tank of the Hudson Valley was supervisor. Well, at least we weren’t socked for an independent auditor to find that missing money. Wonder where it went?
And why are there two well digging trucks drilling aa hole in the shale bedrock at Morello park today? Talk about your tax dollars going down the drain?
This bar is assessed at $515,00, including the barber shop and apartments above, plus the land. It has been assessed at $515,000 since the last century, and remains stuck there since then. The rest of the buildings on Main Street are assessed at lower amounts, though, and were all lowered together in 2014 while Zimmy was in.