Paparazzi love snapping celebrities sipping espresso at the Sant Ambroeus sidewalk cafe, but city officials are turning a blind eye to the illegal outdoor seating.
The West Village hot spot — where Jay-Z and Beyoncé, the Olsen twins and Lea Michele have all been spotted — is just one of the area restaurants that openly flout the law with al fresco dining.
Sidewalk cafes need a license from the Department of Consumer Affairs, something that isn’t available in the largely residential neighborhood because zoning prohibits it.
Community Board 2 complaints to the department date to at least 2007, according to e-mails obtained by The Post.
“It’s literally been a stonewall,” said Maury Schott, a member of the local board, which recently sent a letter to Consumer Affairs Commissioner Jonathan Mintz.
The Mayor’s Office tried to intervene in September 2007, saying that the “lack of enforcement action in this matter has encouraged their [illegal sidewalk cafes’] proliferation.”
But the DCA official responded that the agency was tied up with “a brand-new license category — pedicabs!” and couldn’t offer a solution.
Some West Village activists wonder if Mintz, a neighborhood resident, is playing favorites.
Mintz said he hasn’t eaten at Sant Ambroeus in “at least seven years.”
A department rep declined to comment.
Additional reporting by Susan Edelman