Eyes on the Street: Midtown Pop-Up Café an Instant Attraction
Pop-up indeed!
By
Noah Kazis
3:00 PM EDT on May 10, 2011
Pop-up indeed!
A reader sends along this photo of the new pop-up café on 44th Street, just west of Third Avenue. The local community board just approved the café in March, while one local resident, convinced that Midtown is an “inappropriate location” for more public seating, was still fighting to block it last month. Now the chairs have been set out and residents and visitors in this crowded part of the city are already using it to sit and chat. This photo was taken early in the morning on a Saturday, and we hear it gets much more use on weekdays.
Noah joined Streetsblog as a New York City reporter at the start of 2010. When he was a kid, he collected subway paraphernalia in a Vignelli-map shoebox.
Before coming to Streetsblog, he blogged at TheCityFix DC and worked as a field organizer for the Obama campaign in Toledo, Ohio. Noah graduated from Yale University, where he wrote his senior thesis on the class politics of transportation reform in New York City. He lives in Morningside Heights.
Read More:
More from Streetsblog New York City
Mamdani Administration Backs ‘Delivery Protection’ Law Opposed By Amazon-Backed Coalition
Amazon-backed groups bused dozens of people to City Hall to fight a Mamdani-backed proposal to regulate the e-commerce wild west.
April 10, 2026
POL PLOT: Hochul’s Insurance Plan Is A Statewide Head-Scratcher
"I think if you are injured through negligence, you should be able to seek justice at all costs," said one state Senator.
April 10, 2026
Tribeca Residents Want To Swap Parking for A Plaza at Underused Barnett Newman Triangle
Council Member Chris Marte is backing a local push to transform Barnett Newman Triangle from a sad concrete island into a lush urban oasis.
April 10, 2026
Friday’s Headlines: The Streetsblog Block Party (Canceled!) Edition
The World Cup is getting in the way of Streetsblog's attempts to celebrate its 20th anniversary. Plus the news.
April 10, 2026
‘Predictable’: Manhattan Mom Struck by Driving Scofflaw Wants Known Super Speeders off the Road
Another crash shows how little the political class wants to get reckless drivers off the road.
April 9, 2026
Comments Are Temporarily Disabled
Streetsblog is in the process of migrating our commenting system. During this transition, commenting is temporarily unavailable.
Once the migration is complete, you will be able to log back in and will have full access to your comment history. We appreciate your patience and look forward to having you back in the conversation soon.