NEW YORK CITY — New York City’s outdoor dining program will become permanent under a deal served up Thursday between Mayor Eric Adams and City Council members.
The city’s sidewalks will host outdoor dining year-round, according to the long-awaited deal. Al fresco dining will only be permitted from spring to fall, or about eight months, under the deal.
Adams framed the deal as a way to keep the popular program without the hundreds of abandoned dining sheds that have become rat havens and eyesore.
“With this bill, we will create a permanent, year-round outdoor dining program that will support our small businesses, create jobs for New Yorkers, and keep our streets and communities vibrant,” he tweeted.
The City Council bill, if passed, will streamline the outdoor dining program that began as New York City adjusted to the coronavirus pandemic.
Outdoor dining not only proved a popular and safe way for New Yorkers to eat, it also was a lifeline for the city’s restaurants.
But a vocal set of critics bemoaned how outdoor dining took over parking spaces and left often-shabby sheds on streets. Many restaurant owners found its fees and restrictions burdensome, as well.
Adams and lawmakers ultimately decided to roll back the year-round street dining many advocates pushed for, but Sara Lind, co-executive director of Open Plans, still counted it as a victory.
“Warming winter temperatures will continue to make outdoor dining feasible for most of the year and we believe giving the option for restaurants to participate year-round would offer the most value to businesses, diners, and City coffers,” she said in a statement. “But with the clock ticking on the need for a permanent bill, City Council’s action is welcome news.”
“We will continue to advocate for the Open Restaurants program to be one part of a larger reimagining of our streets and curbs.”
Likewise, Maulin Mehta, co-leader of the Alfresco NYC coalition, offered support to the deal, albeit with a minor caveat related to the seasonal street dining.
“While we would have loved to see a year-round program, we urge the City Council and Adams Administration to act swiftly to pass and implement this bill so we can move into the rulemaking phase and give restaurants and communities the certainty they need to make adjustments and plan for the future,” she said in a statement.
Additional details likely will be hashed out in coming weeks, but New Yorkers have cause to celebrate, said Andrew Rigie and Rob Bookman, the executive director and counsel, respectively, of the New York Hospitality Alliance.
“The new law will cut the red tape and fees for restaurants to participate when compared to the overly restrictive pre-pandemic sidewalk café licenses, which excluded so many restaurants throughout the five boroughs from offering al fresco dining,” they said in a joint statement.
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