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[UPDATE] Motorino: The Leaning Tower of Pizza
By
John Del Signore
Published Sep 15, 2010
Modified Sep 15, 2010
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By
John Del Signore
Published Sep 15, 2010
Modified Sep 15, 2010
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[UPDATE BELOW] The original Williamsburg location of Motorino, one of the epicenters of the Neapolitan-style pizza earthquake that's rocked NYC in the past few years, is tipping over! For over 15 years, according to DOB records, the building on Graham Avenue that houses the ground floor pizzeria has been listing to the side. Now a tipster tells us that it's shifted so far out of plumb that the doors and windows don't properly close.
To keep from falling over, they're probably going to have to rearrange their seating chart to keep more heavy-set diners stay on one side, while the skinny lightweights eat salad on the other to balance it out. Also, with the door impossible to close, this probably means they have no choice but to go the Denny's route, rip the locks off the door, and rage all night! Mmmm, midnight Motorino...
UPDATE: Motorino's publicist has sent us this revised statement from chef Mathieu Palombino: "The landlord is being pressured by the Department of Buildings to correct a lean on the building. The building is not falling down and poses no danger. We are also pressuring the landlord to make the repairs so we could possibly open the side street to bay windows and eventually have tables on the sidewalk." The publicist adds:
Please note: The restaurant will NOT be closing—if and when they landlord decides to, the neighborhood may be Motorino-less for a couple of days… but there’s always the East Village location!
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John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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