Carnegie Deli Still Closed One Month After Investigators Discovered Illegal Gas Hook-Up

One month after being shut down over an illegal gas connection, Carnegie Deli is still closed. As of now, according to Department of Buildings records, the violations that the pastrami institution was charged with back in April – primarily for an "illegal gas valve" installed in the basement – are still pending a hearing with the city. The deli stands accused of siphoning off gas before it reached the meter, effectively cutting its gas bill in half. The owner had no trouble immediately writing Con Ed a check for a cool $40,050 to make up the difference, but has to wait for permits to be issued and construction to be completed before the deli can actually reopen.

The Post now reports that the restaurant is currently under construction, with one worker there claiming "We’re going to reopen soon. It’s all in the city’s hands." Meanwhile, while plenty of people out there are surely impatient to get their pastrami back, the residents of the building that houses Carnegie Deli have a much bigger problem on their hands: the entire building, not just the restaurant, has been without gas or hot water since the investigation, and probably will be until construction is completed.