NorthEndWaterfront.com

Caffe Graffiti received unanimous support for 36 outdoor patio seats from the North End/Waterfront Neighborhood Council (NEWNC) at Monday night’s meeting.

Luigi DeMarco and his attorney presented an amendment to add outdoor patio service with 36 seats to their existing alcohol license for beer and wine with liqueurs. The amendment is for their recently opened location adjacent to the North End Greenway parks at 64 Cross Street, on the corner of Salem Street.

The City’s Licensing Board has already approved the amendment, subject to meeting with the neighborhood groups. The hours of the patio will be from 8:00 am through 11:00 pm. The license application was for a midnight closing, but the Boston Police asked for an 11:00 pm closing which is consistent with most other patios in the city. Alcohol service will be with food only and the patio will be seasonal from April through October. Neighbor notification was sent to five surrounding buildings, mostly on Salem Street.

A resident asked that the umbrellas for the tables be configured so they don’t overlap with the pedestrian crossing. The tables will be about 3 feet from the Freedom Trail and 6 feet from the existing bollards.

NEWNC voted 9-0 in support of the license amendment for Caffe Graffiti. Council members noted they have not reviewed any other outdoor patio configurations for the Cross Street businesses. Permits for those tables (no alcohol) have been awarded by MassDOT which owns the property.

Meeting minutes can be found at the NEWNC website, www.NEWNCBoston.org.

Caffe Graffiti (64 Cross Street) presented to NEWRA’s Zoning, Licensing & Construction Committee in order to add outdoor patio service to its existing indoor malt, wine & cordials license. Luigi DeMarco attended with his attorney on Tuesday, April 28, 2010. The application was already approved at the April 14th Licensing Board hearing where a temporary license was granted, subject to the neighborhood meetings. The ZLC meeting is for informational purposes only. A vote will take place at the May 13th NEWRA monthly meeting and the May 10th NEWNC meeting.

Caffe Graffiti’s Luigi DeMarco (left) and his attorney present to NEWRA’s ZLC Committee.Highlights from the presentation:

• Hours of operation for the patio will be 8:00 am to 11:00 pm. The closing hour was determined to be 11:00 pm at the Licensing Board hearing, consistent with most outdoor patios in the city. The inside closing hour is 12 midnight.
• There will be 36 chairs with square tables.
• The perimeter will be sectioned off with flower planter boxes leaving about 3 feet from the Freedom Trail line.
• An awning will provide shade.

• NEWRA Vice-President, Stephanie Hogue, considered whether NEWRA’s vote should be conditioned on other issues regarding Cross Street plaza. The applicant responded that they don’t have control over what the City/BRA, MassDOT or other businesses do on the remainder of the plaza.
• ZLC Co-Chair David Kubiak asked the applicant to send neighbor notifications in advance of the May 13th NEWRA monthly meeting. Kubiak said the license amendment should be separate from the other Cross Street plaza issues.
• I stated my support for the application, clarifying a recent Boston Globe article.
• Dorothy Keville asked about smoking. Luigi said that despite being a smoker himself, the patio will not have smoking.