Upper West Sider says the smoke from a wood-fired pizzeria makes life “Dickensian” – Solondais

Every New Yorker loves old-fashioned Neapolitan pizza—until they live next to a wood-fired oven.

Neighbors of the popular Motorino Pizzeria on Columbus Avenue on the Upper West Side say they haven’t been able to open their windows since the wood-fired pie restaurant opened about seven years ago. Black soot from the restaurant’s exhaust collects on the facade, blackens the windows and penetrates into the houses. Pizzeria owner Mathieu Palombino said the restaurant installed a pollution control system from wood-fired kitchen equipment maker Smoki USA that complies with the city’s new emissions regulations. New regulations have forced wood- and coal-fired pizzerias to make costly, climate-friendly upgrades – but locals say smoke remains a problem.

“It’s like living in a Dickensian chimney,” said Chantal Berman, who lives in the neighboring Motorino building with her 1-year-old child. “The thickness and oiliness of the soot and the smell that comes out of that chimney is unlike anything I have ever experienced.”

Since 2017, Motorino’s immediate neighbors have sent cease-and-desist letters to the pizzeria’s owners, petitioned City Hall and complained to 311, local Councilman Gale Brewer and Ward 7. Some apartments are located approximately 20 feet from La Chimney in Motorino.

Berman and his neighbors said they rush to close their windows before Motorino opens at 11:30 a.m. each day. When Berman forgets to close the windows on time, she and her child start coughing because of the smoke, she said.

Palombino said his company complied with emissions regulations that went into effect in April. According to the specifications of the Smoki filter system, the device reduces particles by up to 97% by cooling hot, dark smoke and converting it into water vapor.

“We have had a laundry man operating 24 hours a day in our Upper West Side stack since we opened in 2016,” Palombino said. He added that he was in the process of switching to natural gas. According to his email correspondence with residents, Palombino began this process in spring 2021.

Burning wood causes two and a half times more pollution than natural gas. Burning coal produces around twice as many emissions as natural gas.

Research shows that commercial kitchens are a significant source of pollutants such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and soot. Pollutant concentrations are higher in the immediate vicinity of restaurants. The regulations, which came into force last spring, aim to address this localized pollution.

The new rules made national headlines, with some critics complaining that the city was over-regulating its most popular food, pizza.

Multiple complaints on the Department of Buildings website about smoke coming from the Motorino and another restaurant in the building were deemed unfounded by an inspector. These checks took place before the new emissions regulations came into force. A spokesman for the Ministry of Environmental Protection confirmed that an inspector committed an air traffic regulations violation against the company in June, which may have been due to a failure to maintain system filtration.

Public records show the fine was $1,600. Follow-up inspections in recent weeks showed the restaurant was following the rules. But some neighbors still smell the smoke.

“I had to replace two couches and three carpets and all of my window sills because of soot pollution,” said Heather Harrison, a board member of the co-op in a neighboring building. from West 85th Street. “This year I decided that I can only open my windows early in the morning – the pollution is just too bad. »