Northport to Discuss Rooftop Dining Ban at Public Hearing

Rooftop dining in Northport Village may never come to be if local officials decide to ban rooftop dining at an upcoming public hearing.

The rooftop dining became a topic of conversation in the village in 2015 when Skipper’s Pub, which overlooks Northport Harbor, looked to open a raw bar and a cafe on a 1,350-square-foot rooftop deck that fits about 100 people. Ultimately, the village unanimously decided to deny Skipper’s Pub’s rooftop dining proposal.

Now the Village looks to hold a hearing on a Village Code change that would ban rooftop and outdoor dining at many restaurants in the village, according to a recent Newsday article.

The public hearing will be held Tuesday, March 7 at 6 p.m. at Village Hall, located at 224 Main St.

Northport Village Mayor George Doll told Newsday the code change was influenced by Skipper’s Pub rooftop dining proposal and the recent increase in online rentals that advertise outdoor and rooftop dining and party spaces.

In a poll posted on Patch in 2015, about 61 percent of Northport residents said they approved the rooftop dining proposal. About 37 percent were against the proposal and 2 percent of voters had no opinion on the decisions. View the results and comments here.

Those who were opposed to the proposal commented on Northport’s already dense traffic.

“It will increase noise levels, pedestrian traffic, car traffic, decrease parking even more and make us even more of a zoo in that area of the Village,” Mary Silberstein told Patch in a Facebook message in July 2015.

Many Northport residents commented on Patch’s poll and gave a variety of opinions on the topic:

“While it all sounds wonderful my main concern is parking, traffic and noise. I assume that there would be a band or music playing at some point in the week. I just wonder if the congestion might be too big a price. This must be carefully looked into and regulated.”- Vicki Field

“Parking is available in Northport village, it’s just not convenient and people don’t want to walk too far. I’m for the rooftop dining idea, it would be great to be able to enjoys some fresh seafood and watch the sunset over the water.” -Stephen Huneycutt

“It’s always a balance between fresh ideas and progress while keeping what we love so much about Northport which is the small village charm. The Farmer’s market is great but parking on a Saturday morning is near impossible. This illustrates the point about the traffic and parking issues we are seeing creep up slowly. The rooftop raw bar would be nice IF we kept it to no more than about 50 seats. Also add a bit more parking for the village and trim back the Farmer’s market to an ending time of 12 pm.” -Richard

What are your thoughts on banning rooftop dining in Northport? Sound off below.

Patch photo