Open Fire Oven In Fort Greene Restaurant Triggers Asthma Attacks, Neighbors Say

FORT GREENE, BROOKLYN — An open-fire kitchen in a trendy new Fort Greene restaurant is triggering asthma attacks and filling nearby homes with smoke, according to neighbors.

Metta — a South American restaurant that opened at 197 Adelphi St. in March – boasts its chef-designed wood-burning oven allows use of “all aspects of the fire (smoke, flame, ash and embers)” to create multiple layers of flavor in their food.

But it also creates smoke that's damaging health, neighbors said.

“I can no longer sit out on my deck nor have my three windows open for fresh air,” Eileen Bertin wrote on the hyperlocal social media site NextDoor.

“It’s causing me to have asthma attacks after a full year without one.”

“We also cannot open our windows without the wood smoke coming into our apartment,” said Sergio Aguirre. “Do you have any suggestions on a solution?”

Asthma is on the rise in downtown Brooklyn where almost 20 percent of adults reported suffering from the chronic condition, according to a SUNY medical center report.

The potentially fatal problem becomes more dangerous in the summertime when heat waves exacerbate the impact of air pollutants.

Bertin said she has reached out to 311 and the local fire department but has yet to find relief.

Department of Environmental Protection inspectors responded to a 311 complaint about the restaurant’s impact on air quality on April 27, city records show. But the DEP determined there was no violation and closed the complaint.

The Department of Building has not received any complaints against the restaurant, which spent about $166,425.00 to install new ducts and a ventilation system and complete other renovations in 2016, records show.

Metta's owners did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the wood-burning oven Chef Norberto Piattoni described as a “vertical fire box” to the New York Post.

But the chef told The Last Magazine that the oven would benefit the community by allowing him to serve them more nutritious food.

“We’re going to be doing a lot of interesting things with the fire and with the ashes and with the coals,” Piattoni said of his open-fire workspace.

“We believe it’s pretty healthy for you.”

Image via Pixabay