A construction trailer outside Katch Astoria. Photo: Roseann McSorley.
June 20, 2025 By Shane O’Brien
The longtime owner of Katch, a popular gastropub in Astoria, says she may be forced to shut down within two months due to a sharp decline in revenue that she attributes to nearby construction blocking visibility of her business.
Roseann McSorley, who has operated Katch Astoria at 31-19 Newtown Ave. with her husband Bill and family for nearly a decade, said the bar has experienced an 86% drop in business over a six-month period linked to the ongoing construction next door.
According to McSorley, the decline began last July when the law firm Sacco and Fillas—located in the same building—began construction on its own adjacent property. Between October 2024 and April 2025, she said, a construction trailer related to that project was stationed directly in front of the pub, obscuring it from street view.
“It severely impacted us,” McSorley said. “They put a trailer unit right in front of our door.”
Photo: Roseann McSorley.
McSorley noted that Sacco and Fillas were legally entitled to place the trailer outside Katch after obtaining permission from the building’s landlord, Joseph Pistilli.
She said she repeatedly asked the law firm to relocate the trailer over the six-month period, stating that patrons mistakenly believed Katch was part of the construction site and closed as a result.
McSorley further alleged that scaffolding installed for the adjacent building blocked the Katch sign, making it difficult for pedestrians to see the business from the sidewalk.
“If you get off the train and you look up, you don’t see anything,” she said. “They haven’t been easy to work with or helpful in any way.”
McSorley said the trailer was removed in April, but claimed the law firm placed “road closed” signs in front of the business in late May, which she said impacted foot traffic during the busy Memorial Day weekend.
“As a result, on Memorial Day weekend, when the Knicks were playing and we should have been somewhat busy, we had absolutely no business and closed most of the weekend,” she said.
Sacco and Fillas disputed those claims.
The law firm accused McSorley of “looking for someone—or something-to blame for the declining state of her business.”
Elias Fillas, a partner at Sacco and Fillas, said the trailer was placed on a public street in accordance with legal requirements from December through March, as part of the firm’s construction project.
“It’s worth noting that Katch has approximately 100 feet of frontage along Newtown Avenue, while the subject trailer was under ten feet in length,” Fillas said to Queens Post.
Fillas also said McSorley had not initially raised her concerns directly with the firm, but instead approached the Queens Chamber of Commerce and the NYC Department of Buildings.
“Once we became aware of these complaints—none of which resulted in violations—we reached out to understand her objections,” he said.
Via @katchastoria on Instagram
Fillas claimed McSorley initially consented to the trailer placement before reversing her position. While the firm had “no legal obligation” to move the trailer, he said it did so “as a gesture of good faith” at an estimated cost of $20,000.
“Even after the trailer’s removal, we have received eight additional complaints, presumably from the owners of Katch. Each time the Department of Buildings has visited the site, they have found everything in order and have issued no violations,” Fillas said.
Sacco and Fillas also alleged that McSorley entered their property without permission to photograph the site and staff “dozens of times.”
“We have never had any issues with Katch or its owners in the past,” Fillas added. “We have been tenants in the same building for over a decade. We’ve maintained a cordial relationship and have even had some of our events catered by them. Unfortunately, it now seems that goodwill has been discarded, and they are looking for a scapegoat for their business difficulties.”
McSorley maintains that business has been significantly impacted by the construction. She said she has asked Pistilli to forgive several months’ rent and believes Sacco and Fillas should compensate Katch for the loss of revenue.
“If they’re not going to do it freely, I’m going to have to litigate to get it,” she said.
Pistilli did not directly respond to a request for comment but said McSorley’s allegations are “not true at all.”
Still, McSorley believes she may be forced to shutter the business if conditions do not improve. She described Katch as a family-run establishment operated alongside her husband and two children.
While she does not anticipate reopening the bar in another location, McSorley said she hopes to pivot by expanding the family’s existing catering operation into a new concept.
“We already have a catering company as well, and what I think we’re going to try to do is run our catering company elsewhere,” she said. “We’re in the throes of trying to organize that right now.”
In the meantime, McSorley has ramped up the number of events hosted at Katch in an effort to boost foot traffic and keep the business afloat.
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