New York City's outdoor dining program begins
NEW YORK (WABC) -- Restaurants across New York City can finally begin serving meals to patrons in their sidewalk and roadway eating spaces on Tuesday.
They were once a staple of the pandemic, but those outdoor dining sheds disappeared in November as new rules went into effect in the city, mandating sheds only be allowed between April 1 to November 29. They must also adhere to strict guidelines.
Those restrictions may be having a direct impact on the number of restaurants participating. So far, the city has issued only about 600 conditional permits.
There are only 10 tables at Tea & Sympathy, a jewel box of a restaurant in the West Village, which is why Iain Anderson is looking forward to setting up his roadside dining shed on Greenwich Avenue, but the city only just approved his plan that he submitted in November, and he's required to erect three separate structures instead of one long one.
"Every time there's a new cost, every day there's a new form or the form is filled in wrong or the insurance form is filled in wrong. And that comes back," Anderson said. "And I'm pretty sure that everyone is in the same boat and moaning about the DOT."
For other restaurants that have received the green light to start building, hundreds face mounting pressure to offer a complete dining experience as they have not been approved to serve liquor.
Of the approved 617 roadway cafes, only seven have approved liquor licenses.
That's because the state liquor authority is "assessing the impact" of these conditional approvals for outdoor and roadway dining and how it issues liquor licenses.
Some lawmakers are calling for outdoor dining to be year-round.
"So many cities around the world you can eat in the street. We can't restrict these rules. The city put too many rules that make outdoor dining too expensive. We have to be a pro streetscape and a pro open streets city and state," Assembly Member Tony Simone said.
For now, alcohol at those unapproved locations will not be served as the city works to make it possible.
The New York State Liquor Authority is set to hold a full board meeting on Wednesday.
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