Feb. 18, 2016 By Michael Florio
Lefkos Pyrgos is in gear to open an outdoor seating café at the Ditmars Boulevard location it recently relocated to.
The Greek bakery and coffee shop, located at 33-02 Ditmars Blvd., was approved by Community Board 1 on Tuesday for an unenclosed sidewalk café with 16 tables and 32 chairs. Lefkos Pyrgos opened at this location in December after having to move from its long-held spot at 31st Street and 23rd Avenue.
According to the outdoor café application presented to CB 1, Lefkos Pyrgos would put four tables and eight chairs along the Ditmars Boulevard side of their bakery and 12 tables and 24 seats on the 33rd Street side. The bakery can seat approximately 50 people inside.
The set up would leave adequate space both for servers and pedestrians to be able to walk by, a representative of the bakery told the Board.
However, the bakery’s café application met some resistance from neighbors.
Two residents who live near the bakery asked CB 1 to vote against the application, charging that noise and trash from the café would be unbearable for neighbors.
“It has been very noisy ever since the bakery opened,” Laura Spaeth, a 33rd Street resident, told the Board. “People eating and drinking outside will only add to the noise and garbage issues.”
Spaeth also told the Astoria Post that the bright lights from the bakery sign shines through her window all night long.
In response, the bakery’s representative agreed to sign a stipulation to their application stating that they would try to abate noise, make sure that the exterior premises is kept clean and making sure people are not congregating and smoking in front of the business.
The representative also stated that the bakery had an outdoor seating café during their tenure at the corner of 31st Street and 23rd Ave.
“They never had a noise or garbage complaint there,” she said. “We expect that to continue at our new location.”
Ultimately, CB 1 voted overwhelmingly in approval of the application, with 33 for and two against.
The Community Board will now send a letter of recommendation for this application to the Department of Consumer Affairs.
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17 Comments
Greeks Only for indoor seating. Others can have take out. Thank You.
Don’t mind me if I go in there and accidentally drop a glass bottle beverage on the floor. Or spill a drink over and into one of the display cases. Or a few. 😉
And this isn’t the first time their customer service has been discussed.
Yelp reviews – https://www.yelp.com/biz/lefkos-pirgos-cafe-astoria-3?sort_by=date_desc
Comments on another article – http://astoriapost.com/greek-bakery-located-by-ditmars-station-for-40-years-forced-to-move/
the reason for a permit is to serve! Its hard enough to pay bills and you want to be a squatter? I bet you get Obama care & other social services and complain.
Not a “squatter” when I purchase goods from them. If I was some hoodlum kid with a bunch of loud, raucous friends and our bikes and skateboards, just trying to sit around and hog up table/seating space without buying anything then yes I can understand some hostility. This is not the case at all.
And how much are you betting? I’d like to collect on that. I have been working at the same NPO for 7 years doing meaningful outreach, making meager wages, yet not qualifying for any public assistance in any form. I’d certainly be appreciative of any financial assistance if I received any. When it comes to my hard earned dollar going into a business owner’s pocket, I feel as though I should be entitled to the same quality service and amenities as even the regular customer who is from the same town the owner of the shop emigrated from and who speaks the same language as her.
You guys don’t have to patronize the place
She makes the best cheesecake
She is the Archie Bunker of pastries
She is not a racist just not nice
Not everything is about yourselves
The sensitivity of your generation is retarded
Get a life
If she is discriminating based on race or ethnicity then she can be reported or she can close her business.
This has nothing to do with sensitivity.
If, in fact, she is just mean person, then that is not illegal. But, it seems like a poor business model to me.
Poor business model but she was in business for decades on 31st street, yea, you figured it all out.
I love their pastries, that’s why I have been there several times. I’m just disappointed that they don’t treat me the same as other customers in terms of friendliness and accommodation. I don’t think it’s appropriate to use the word retarded in this context, no matter your sentiment toward me.
if they did that to you that was horrible i would have complained to the owner –
I wonder if they’ll let all customers sit there or discriminate like they have for indoor seating at both locations. I’ve purchased pastries from them before. I then went to sit and have a few and was told that seating is only for table service guests. There was nobody else in the entire place. Another time I tried the same and there was a group of people speaking Greek at a table after they had just purchased a box of pastries and sat down, did not order through a server for table service. Again I was told I could not sit at the table. They aren’t very welcoming when I enter either. Can’t help but wonder if it’s because I don’t look like them, I’m Asian.
File a discrimination complaint with the city .
First of all, I am sure the owners of the place are not sunning a charity or non profit or an NGO…They are in the business to make money.
Why on earth would they not welcome any customer?
I visited Lefkos Pirgos at the old and new location, and perhaps the owner is a bit misunderstood because of her Greek Accent, but she does not care if you are Chinese or Arab or Australian, or white or black… After all the color of the dollar bill is Green now matter who has it!
Greeks are known for many thing, among them is thier hospitality and good business ethics.
So you 2 above… get a life!
Greeks are known for their hospitality and good business ethics but there is an older generation of complete racists.
are know for their hospitality and good business ethics but their is an older generation of complete racists.
And you paint a specific age and group of people with a broad brush, so that would make you ignorant.
You should be ordering Chinese food where there is NO seating.
Why? I’m not Chinese…Oh you’re one of those ignorant people who calls all Asian people Chinese.