New Park Pizza closed under vacate order after SUV crashes into Howard Beach dining room

One of Queens' best-known slice shops is closed for now. New Park Pizza on Cross Bay Boulevard in Howard Beach is under a full vacate order after an SUV crashed into its back dining room on Thursday afternoon.

What happened

The crash happened at about 1:15 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 15, at 156-71 Cross Bay Blvd., the Queens Chronicle reported. Police told the paper the driver, a 68-year-old woman, was trying to park. ABC7 reported the white BMW went from the parking lot through the brick wall of the back dining area after the driver hit the gas instead of the brake, ending up almost entirely inside the building.

The driver and a 73-year-old customer were taken to One Brooklyn Health-Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries, the FDNY told NY1. The NYPD's Emergency Service Unit removed the SUV. An FDNY chief told ABC7 the outcome could have been much worse, noting that a support lintel above the window where the car hit stayed in place.

When it might reopen

The city Department of Buildings issued a full vacate order for the building, according to the Queens Chronicle. By Friday morning the order was posted on the restaurant's door, warning customers not to enter, and green scaffolding surrounded the damaged section, NY1 reported. The restaurant can reopen only after the order is lifted.

In a social media post quoted by NY1, New Park said it is "working very hard" to get back up and running as fast as it can. The restaurant is run by four sisters who took it over from their father and grandfather, and two of the owners told ABC7 on Thursday they hoped to reopen as soon as Friday once repairs made the shop safe. It was not clear Saturday whether the vacate order had been lifted. Check the restaurant's social media before making the trip.

A Howard Beach institution

New Park has been on Cross Bay Boulevard for 70 years and has appeared on critics' lists of the city's favorite slices, ABC7 noted. Regulars outside the shuttered shop on Thursday called it a neighborhood staple.