Outdoor dining to be permitted year-round in NYC
Patrons enjoy a meal outdoors at Bourbon Street on Bell Boulevard. Photo by Dean Moses
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | OCT. 2-OCT. 8, 2020 9
BY ALEJANDRA O'CONNELL-DOMENECH
The city’s Open Restaurants Initiative,
which allows for restaurants to
serve customers on sidewalk and curb
space, will be made permanent.
During an interview with WNYC
host Brian Lehrer, Mayor Bill de Blasio
announced the extension of outdoor
dining, which will now be permitted
year-round.
“I want us to go for the gold here,”
de Blasio told Lehrer. “I really want us
to take this model and make it a part of
the life of New York City for years and
generations to come.”
Restaurants can now extend their
seating past the front of adjacent storefronts
if neighboring businesses agree
to it, de Blasio added.
Restaurants that want to better heat
outdoor dining spaces by enclosing
them may do so but must keep capacity
at 25 percent. Conversely, restaurants
or bars that want to host outdoor dining
in winter must keep spaces “more
open” to allow for better airflow, de
Blasio said.
Outdoor dining, which started in
response to the coronavirus pandemic,
was set to end on Oct. 31. It’s unclear exactly
how many businesses have closed
in the six months since the pandemic
reached New York City but some estimate
that over 1,000 bars and restaurants
have permanently closed since
March.
De Blasio claims that the initiative
has saved over 100,000 jobs in the industry
now that 10,355 bars and restaurants
are participating in the program,
according to the NYC Open Restaurants
tracker.
The city’s Open Street program,
which closes off street blocks to
vehicular traffic, will also become
permanent.
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