Tensions Over Eli's Tavern Outdoor Patio Request Boil Over

This Eli’s Tavern patio issue isn’t going away, and Eli’s owner Richard Ciardiello boldly told the New Haven Register after Tuesday’s Planning and Zoning Board meeting that “I’m not ever going away.”

The Planning and Zoning board did not grant Ciardiello’s request to use a sliver of land near his Daniel Street business for an outdoor patio.

Ciardiello has said that the former owner of the property had secured city approval for the patio use but officials now won’t allow him the same courtesy.

He called the city’s actions “politics at its worst,” the Register reports.

Former State House Speaker James Amann, who is a paid consultant for Eli’s said after Tuesday’s meeting that the “gloves are off,” the Register reports.

Amann and Ciardiello are ironically at odds with Mayor Ben Blake, a Democrat, who they say is holding up approval of the patio use.

On Monday, the Milford Board of Aldermen tabled a vote on the patio use after being told he needed zoning approval first.

Ciardiello has said he paid $2.4 million for the restaurant building and had been assured by city officials previously that he could create an outdoor patio and not having the space has hurt his business, the Register reports.

But some people oppose the idea including former Democratic mayor Alberta Jagoe and the owner of Cafe Atlantique, who said the outdoor area is a perfect spot for families, and if it’s used by Eli’s it could impact her business, the Register reports.

Last month a war of words developed between Ciardello’s paid consultant, former State House Speaker James Amann and Mayor Ben Blake over the patio issue. Read that full story here.

Read the full New Haven Register story here.