FROM THE EDITOR

Vanishing Act

InNew York City, 12,000 hastily built curbside “streeteries” were rushed into place as part of the “brutal economics of COVID-19,” according to curbed.com. e year 2021 was Portland’s pandemic peak, with 33 streetside dining structures, says Zachary Lenhert, Licensing and Housing Safety Manager for the City of Portland. Many of our alfresco eateries were masterpieces of ingenuity. I drove through the Old Port to see them one more time before they disappeared. ey were here, now they’re gone, but not for good.

Maybe the real value of these curbside accommodations—which cynics call dilapidations— is as mirrors to who we were, or thought we were, in 2021 and 2022. ey were testimony to how creative we can be in an emergency, and this extended to our embellishing the names of our dyscurbia: parklets, shanties, pergolas, bait shacks, bubbles, igloos, dining shelters, and sheds. Um, some of these are what we used to call parking spots.

Hey, the Ei el Tower was a temporary exhibition for the 1889 World’s Fair before it became synonymous with Paris. Now it’s lit up every night just so we can marvel at its sparkles.

In City Hall, Lenhert had front-row tickets to the show. “We got a few noise complaints. We got complaints about establishments that had applied for a parklet, [for which] the city placed tra c blocks, then they never installed their parklet, leaving just a blocked-o parking space.” At the same time, “We got complaints from restaurants about not allowing them bigger parklets, or when we made them remove them, or that we didn’t allow covered structures, only umbrellas.” Other retailers lost parking spaces near their stores.

Were any on-street parklet licenses given to a non-restaurant at any time during the program in Portland?

“No.”

I believe restaurant patrons were drawn into nearby retail establishments like bookstores, jewelers, and clothiers because they lingered looking into the windows while dining (or at least waiting in line). A new pursuit—après-dining shopping.

Jessica Hanscombe, Director of Permitting and Inspections for the City of Portland, says permission to go over the curb and serve customers on the street where there was once parking “is a part of the restaurant license with us,” which seems to suggest that any other retail business desiring such a permit is unthinkable. “ at fee is a yearly fee of $3,000 for one space or $5,000 for two spaces. We also have outdoor dining on private property and outdoor dining on public property (sidewalks or parks). e fee for private property is a one-time fee of $125 and is also attached to their restaurant license.” And bookstores can have sidewalk tag sales for a one-time annual fee of just $125.

Sorry, Longfellow. ough every school child once knew the words to Evangeline and “ e Children’s Hour,” now they all know where the “foodiest city in New England” is. e parklets will be returning in April.

Hiding in Maine. With Us.

“Death to the Dracu grandson!” In terror, Iordana Ceausescu of Romania disappeared in secret to Old Orchard Beach with her son while the world searched for them. She lived a buried life among us for fve years. Drawn from 800 hours of unique interviews with Iordana. Colin W. Sargent’s Red Hands—“an astounding account of the Romanian revolution in the voice of Ceausescu’s daughter-in-law.” –Martin Goodman in the Morning Star barbicanpress.com/book/red-hands/ Where Recycling Has Where Recycling Has Always Been In Style Always Been In Style Forget Me Nots Forget Me Nots

Where Recycling Has Always Been In Style Forget Me Nots

240 U.S. Route One Falmouth, Maine 207-781-8252

Now Accepting Seasonal Clothing and Accessories

www.forgetmenotsfalmouth.com240 U.S. Route One 240 U.S. Route One Falmouth, MaineFalmouth, Maine 207-781-8252 207-781-8252

Now Accepting Seasonal

Now Accepting SeasonalClothing and Accessories Clothing and Accessories www.forgetmenotsfalmouth.com

www.forgetmenotsfalmouth.com

Maine Specialty Tea Blends Stonington and Cushing

207-542-0130 tempestinateapot.me