A stretch of Pearl Street between Coenties Slip and Broad Street may be converted from parking spaces to an outdoor cafe, according to an article today by Julie Shapiro at DNAinfo.com.

The cafe would replace a row of parking spaces with a wooden patio ringed by plantings and filled with public seating, according to the article and the space is scheduled to open by the end of this month and remain in place until November.

The article quoted Nina Haima of the city's Department of Transportation, which has recently become the city's most active agencies in terms of making major physical changes to the traditional fabric of the city as stating that "This is the first time we're doing it anywhere in New York," adding that "if it is successful we might want to expand it."

The article maintained that the idea for the cafes came from several restaurant owners on Pearl Street "who wanted to offer potential summertime customers outdoor seating, despite the fact that their sidewalk is too narrow for a regular sidewalk cafe.

The "pop-up" cafe, whose wooden platform measures about 84-by-6-feet, is modeled, the article said, "on similar temporary spaces in San Francisco."

Prashant Bhatt, the owner of Bombay's India Restaurant, and Lars Akerlund, owner of the Fika Expresso Bar, are spitting the cost of the $15,000 wooden platform and the furniture and the plantings. They said in the article that pedestrian can use the platform and its seating regardless of whether they order food.

The article noted that "the proposal got a mixed reaction Wednesday night from the Financial District Committee of Community Board 1 as several members said that the cafe looking amazing but others lamented the loss of the five parking spaces.

Mr. Akerlund said that the city agreed to add one parking space farther up the street and that a Department of Transportation staff member said it would look into other locations to add parking as well, the article said.