Twirling confection gets icy reception in Chelsea

The fate of the scrumptious, spinning confection atop Bugers & Cupcakes, on West 23rd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, hangs in the balance pending a decision by the Department of Transportation.

By Alyssa Galella

Leave it to a giant, spinning baked good to cause controversy in Chelsea.

But that’s just what happened when some area residents were whipped up into a frothy cream over the presence of the three-foot pink cupcake atop the canopy for Burgers & Cupcakes on 23rd Street, between Seventh and Eighth Avenues.

Last week, the debate came to a head.

“I strongly oppose this kind of clutter of our visual sightline,” said Ed Hamilton, who lives across the street at the Hotel Chelsea and wrote about the cupcake several times on his Website, Blog Chelsea.

“It’s outrageous,” agreed James Wagner, who has lived in the building next door to the restaurant for 20 years. “It’s not a matter of aesthetics, but encroachment of a public sidewalk,” he said.

The controversial confection, made by Falcon Perspectives in Long Island City, cost “a lot of money,” according to Nance Greenspan, co-owner of Burgers & Cupcakes. It was originally the idea of Greenspan’s partner, Bill Liederman, who was inspired by the oversized margarita in front of Caliente Cab Company on Seventh Avenue South in the West Village.

After the cupcake went up in December, Wagner filed complaints with the Department of Buildings and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn’s office. Her staff passed his complaint on to the Department of Transportation, which issues permits for canopies and other structures on city sidewalks. After inspection, D.O.T. found several problems with the cupcake canopy and issued a violation to the restaurant last Thursday.

Greenspan said that she thought the awning was “grandfathered in” and the cupcake was perfectly legal. But Craig Chin, a spokesman from D.O.T., said Burgers & Cupcakes does not have a current permit for a canopy that stretches across the entire sidewalk. The canopy also should not feature advertising, such as the restaurant’s phone number, or lights, which illuminate the cupcake at night.

If the restaurant replaces the long canopy with a shorter awning, which would be regulated by the Department of Buildings, the cupcake might be able to stay on top if it is not too large, Chin said. Burgers & Cupcakes has 30 days to make the changes or it must face a fine.

However, not everyone in the neighborhood has such strong feelings about the large pink sculpture.

“I think it’s just a little excessive,” said José Rojas, co-owner of Big Booty Bread, a bakery two doors down from Burgers & Cupcakes.

“I never really noticed it,” said William Rang, a manager at Chelsea Clearview Cinemas, directly across the street. “But the twirling is a little tacky. I would like it better if it didn’t spin.”

Jim Manthas, a manager at Breadstix Café, across the street, thought it was “cute advertising. It’s funny to look at, but it might be distracting for drivers,” he said.

For now, the cupcake’s fate hangs—or spins—in the balance. Not to be discouraged, Burgers & Cupcakes is planning to open a Cupcake Xpress in the Beard Papa’s store on Carmine Street next week. However, critics will be glad to know that the new restaurant, which is no longer affiliated with the Hell’s Kitchen eatery of the same name, has no plans to erect another giant dessert.

“You can’t please everybody all of the time,” said Greenspan, who tries not to let detractors get to her. “But it’s a cupcake. It’s a happy thing!”