The city demolished an elaborately decorated $25,000 outdoor dining shed belonging to an artsy Manhattan hotspot Thursday — and the owners are torn up about it, The Post has learned.
“This is our whole livelihood. We put every f—king penny into this place,” said Mimi Blitz of the restaurant and art gallery Pinky’s Space, who claimed she was given “zero warning” that her disco ball and neon light decorated structure would be razed by Department of Transportation workers.
“I’m very emotional about it.”
The city had inspected the 30-foot shed on East First Street and First Avenue earlier this month — but said nothing about plans to tear it down, she said.
They only told her to get rid of a vending machine that “wasn’t food-related” and to pick up a trash can encroached 6 feet into the amenity zone between the shed and the sidewalk, Blitz said.
She said she promptly removed the machine and admitted that she was unable to move the garbage can because some movers failed to show up.
But she said the DOT workers never cited this as a reason for their demolition when they arrived to tear the shed down Thursday — and, in fact, gave her no reason.
“They didn’t tell us why. They said we had orders from the city to take this away,” Blitz said.
The workers took everything down from the shed’s wooden beams and astroturf to its decorative chandelier and small garden.
She said she got so mad she tried to stop them — but police threatened to arrest her.
“The cops said you will get arrested if you don’t move. They said the structure is going down, or the structure is going down and we will arrest you,” she said.
The DOT said the owners had three separate warnings about the shed’s noncompliance and removal beginning in August.
“Open Restaurants helped saved the industry during the height of the pandemic and has made our streets more vibrant public spaces,” DOT spokesman Vincent Barone said.
“As we craft a permanent program, we will continue to remove abandoned sheds and those with egregious violation histories to address quality of life complaints.
The city has already removed dozens of outdoor dining sheds in recent weeks and said it is considering more regulations for the ones that remain two years after the pandemic prompted the trend.
The crackdown comes after some Manhattan neighbors complained that the structures have attracted rodents and resulted in trashed streets.
“We were still struggling from the pandemic but making it work. And then someone comes and takes it away for no reason,” she said.
She said she now wants the city to replace the colorful shed.
“We want our space back,” she said. “It was built with love and care.”
The Department of Transportation didn’t immediately return a request for comment Thursday.