Editorial | Red tape is killing NYC outdoor dining | amNewYork

"When New York City first permitted restaurants to set up outdoor dining six springs ago, it was a godsend to businesses devastated by COVID-19 pandemic-related capacity restrictions that had kept patrons away and put these establishments on the brink of total failure. The de Blasio Administration moved quickly to cut through the red tape and throw this lifeline to so many struggling restaurants. It was haphazard and messy at times, but it worked. Outdoor dining amid the pandemic allowed many restaurants to make it through the economic storm and thrive on the other side of it."

"Fast forward to today, however, and outdoor dining is more regulated than it was back in 2020. That's not a bad thing; regulations imposed in the latter half of the Adams administration were necessary to ensure businesses maintained proper, sanitary outdoor dining areas, unlike the ramshackle curbside sheds of the COVID era. But increased layers of government red tape are strangling outdoor dining, according to a report released last week by City Comptroller Mark Levine."

"Under the revised outdoor dining regulations, applications must go through review from several different agencies. Levine's report says the approval process is turning into a quagmire. One such agency is the city's Department of Transportation, which the Comptroller's office said submitted 1,255 permit applications to them in 2026. Yet the DOT said in January that it had nearly 2,400 applications in the pipeline for submission."

"The disparity suggests that hundreds of applications are stuck in bureaucratic limbo in the bowels of city government. Even so, the 2,400 applications for outdoor dining are a microcosm of the actual number of restaurants in New York City. Levine's office indicated that there are currently 25,161 businesses in the Big Apple tagged as restaurants as of May 6. That fewer than 10% of the city's restaurants have bothered to apply for an outdoor dining permit is another symptom of the program's red tape pr"

Outdoor dining began as a rapid relief measure when COVID-19 capacity limits devastated restaurants. Early rules were sometimes messy but helped many businesses survive and recover. Current outdoor dining rules are more regulated, with added requirements intended to ensure sanitary, properly maintained dining areas. A City Comptroller report says the approval process has become a quagmire due to increased layers of government red tape. Applications must be reviewed by multiple agencies, including the Department of Transportation. The Comptroller’s office reported 1,255 DOT permit applications submitted in 2026, while DOT reported nearly 2,400 applications in its pipeline in January, suggesting many are stuck in government limbo. The report also notes that only under 10% of New York City restaurants have applied for permits.

Read at www.amny.com