Gov. Andrew Cuomo (Getty)
When the de Blasio administration announced the Open Restaurants program over the summer, Roni Mazumdar, the owner of Indian eatery Rahi, thought he was out of luck. A fire hydrant in front of his West Village restaurant blocked him from setting up chairs and tables as required by the program at the time.
Luckily, there was a vacant space next door and with the owner’s permission, Mazumdar was able to open for business in front of his neighbor’s building.
Then, the city’s inspectors came knocking. In less than two weeks in September, Rahi got three notices, according to records shared with