HILLSDALE—Following strong concerns voiced April 12 by a local restaurateur hoping to offer expanded al fresco dining to meet customer demand, Mayor John Ruocco requested that a councilman “quickly draft” a resolution to help reinstate expanded outdoor dining options.
Ruocco told Pascack Press he had asked Councilman Frank Pizzella to work with Attorney Mark Madaio to draft a resolution for the May 3 meeting to allow “the same liberalized approach that we took in 2020-2021 and then take the time to consider more dramatic changes down the road.”
At the April 12 council meeting, Della Cucina Ristorante Owner Kerry Mazzacano said she was under the impression council had extended the relaxed dining restrictions due to Covid that allowed local eateries to place tents (Cornerstone and Della Cucina), and add sidewalk tables and chairs, and offer outside dining for customers to minimize worries about Covid transmission. Della Cucina is at 100 Park Ave.
However, Ruocco told her that the council did relax local code requirements in 2020 and 2021, but that those “exceptions” expired as of Dec. 31, 2021.
Currently, Hillsdale has an ordinance for outdoor cafes but previously allowed large outdoor tents during Covid, both to increase restaurants’ capacities and to protect public health.
Only recently, Pizzella, representing the committee, had recommended options for enhancing downtown dining and increasing pedestrian traffic, citing the benefits of so-called parklet and gamelet amenities that snug up on sidewalks, for use by business patrons.
Parklets might use spaces for outdoor dining, lunch breaks or relaxing, while gamelets could convert parking spaces into game break areas featuring chess, checkers, or air hockey. (See “Parklets, gamelets, green streets: The future of Hillsdale?” Pascack Press, March 14, 2022.)
Due to at-first banned and then restricted indoor dining — also limited by social distancing requirements — the borough council, like other Pascack Valley governing bodies, relaxed local zoning codes and allowed outdoor dining options to help restaurants hurt badly by mandated restrictions imposed by Gov. Phil Murphy’s Covid-19 executive orders.
After Ruocco told her they were working to liberalize dining options, and borough attorney Mark Madaio advised consulting with the zoning official, Mazzacano said customers planning Holy Communion and baptism events had been pressing her on her outdoor dining status.
Both advised her to consult with the local code official to see if she could put up the tent for dining on private property.
Hillsdale business administrator David Troast said he would work with business owners to identify issues and work with them to resolve expanded dining options and concerns.
Ruocco told Pascack Press, “What you heard (April 12) from our attorney was advice directed to the owners of Della Cucina that they should review with our code enforcement official their plans to again set up a tent in the parking lot owned by their landlord. That is out of an abundance of caution since the code restrictions and administrative requirements relating to street cafes and outdoor dining have reverted back to what it was before Covid.”
Ruocco said he asked the Economic Development Committee in January to consider making permanent exemptions approved in 2020 and 2021. “My goal was to encourage outdoor dining by May 1, since the residents really enjoyed the outdoor cafe experience. When I worked in Europe for weeks on end, I got to love it, too.”
The mayor said he had reached out to Pizzella on April 13 to encourage him to contact Madaio and work together to assist local businesses increase outdoor dining options.