The City Council will begin reviewing legislation next week to create a permanent outdoor dining program for the Big Apple’s struggling restaurant industry.
The new measure would establish rules and permit procedures – to be overseen by the city’s Department of Transportation — for eateries seeking to use portions of sidewalks and curbside parking outside their businesses to set up tables and chairs and serve customers food and drinks.
It would replace a similar, temporary program then-Mayor Bill de Blasio set up in June 2020 to help save restaurants after the COVID-19 pandemic shut down indoor dining citywide.
Councilwoman Marjorie Velázquez (D-Bronx), who sponsored the proposed law change at the request of Mayor Adams, told The Post her goal is to “streamline” and simplify the process for more restaurants to secure outdoor dining permits while making them “less cost prohibitive” and more accessible.
Over 12,100 eateries currently participate in the temporary program.
“My commitment is to keeping New York City vibrant,” said Velázquez, the chairwoman of the Committee on Consumer and Worker Projection.
The committee will hold a remote public hearing Tuesday on the measure where stakeholders will have a chance to testify on how it could be improved before the full Council votes on a final plan at a later date.
Outdoor dining spaces face opposition in some neighborhoods, where locals complain of rats, lost parking spaces and other issues. Samuel Rigelhaupt / Sipa USASamuUnder the current proposal, eateries seeking licenses to operate outdoor dining would have to shell out $1,050 each and then pay a $525 renewal fee following a yet-to-be-determined time period. It also sets up various safety measures and other restrictions for the pop-up, al fresco dining spots to follow, including prohibiting use of advertising signage.
A permanent outdoor dining program drafted by the de Blasio administration was approved by the Planning Commission last November, but it never reached the Council for a vote before the term-limited mayor left office at year’s end.
The city claims outdoor dining saved some 100,000 restaurant jobs that would have otherwise not survived the pandemic.
However, outdoor dining sites face vocal opposition in some neighborhoods, where locals complain of rats, lost parking spaces and other quality-of-life issues. Some two dozen residents of Manhattan and Brooklyn have sued to stop the program from being made permanent.
