Brian Keenan, owner of McGillicuddy’s in New Paltz, wants to open an outdoor cafe and bar at the property behind the Village parking lot, which has the address of 5 Plattekill Avenue. Most recently, the commercial part of that building has been used for a smoke shop, and before that a laundromat. What Keenan heard at the September 21 meeting of the Village Planning Board were questions about how pedestrians and drivers of large trucks would safely get to this new establishment.
Access to this mixed-use property is via a driveway ramp between Ariel Dental Care and the entrance to the municipal lot and involves traveling behind a row of Main Street buildings to get there. Some of that stretch has been set aside for outdoor seating to accommodate McGillicuddy’s customers during the pandemic, which may have spurred Keenan’s desire to set up a venue that’s intended to be out-of-doors. County Planning Board members have signaled some concern about that being a tight fit by requiring a truck-turning template be prepared. This document would lay out how a driver would get a truck into and out of the lot.
Keenan’s engineer, Andy Willingham, told board members that a template would only be for garbage pickup, as all other deliveries are and will be conducted from vehicles parked on the street. Board attorney Rick Golden explained that mandatory comments from the County Planning Board can be ignored only after a vote to override them. Golden also said, “I don’t know if it’s optimal to have to back out with a garbage truck.”
The safety implications of this plan were forefront in the mind of board member Rachel Lagodka, who is focused on how pedestrians will walk to this back-lot property — both patrons of the proposed bar and residents of the existing apartments. Willingham has provided for stairs to climb from the adjacent village lot, but Lagodka is pushing for a walkway running all the way there from Plattekill Avenue. That sets up for a conflict between the needs of those on foot and those in vehicles, because building a walk that is accessible to those in wheelchairs — which a stairway does not — would narrow the driveway so much that it couldn’t be used for two-way motorized traffic without removing as many as five parking spaces.
While this portion of downtown has long been part of the late-night scene, two nearby bars have been closed and converted into apartments. Responding to concerns about a new outdoor tavern making it a bit noisy for all of those recent residents, Keenan said that the speakers would be at ground level and cited a “vested interest” in keeping the area comfortable for those tenants. Based on the McGillicuddy’s experience, Keenan doesn’t expect much interest in outdoor seating after 10 p.m., although under state law a bar can be open until 4 a.m.
A public hearing on this project will be opened on October 5.
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