A Mulberry Street eatery is suing to stop the city from ripping up its decades-old sidewalk cafe, saying New York can’t afford to make Little Italy any smaller.
Adele Gallo, who runs Casa Bella Ristorante, was ordered by the Department of Consumer Affairs in January to remove a platform outside her eatery that serves as an al fresco dining area for 20 guests.
She would have to close her doors and lay off 30 employees without the revenue from the outdoor cafe, her Manhattan Supreme Court suit states.
The city notified Gallo that her permit would be yanked this spring because it violated rules that the area must be level with the surrounding sidewalk.
“It should go without saying that Little Italy, and especially this stretch of Mulberry Street . . . is known for its Italian restaurants and the traditional Italian sidewalk cafe,” she pleads in court papers.
The city has been attacking the vestiges of old Little Italy by forcing restaurants to remove longtime sidewalk cafes and slapping permit holders with hefty fines, business owners told The Post.
A Consumer Affairs spokeswoman said the agency is “closely reviewing Casa Bella’s plans to determine what elements can be permitted without jeopardizing the safety of passers-by or handicapped customers.”