"If this all feels like deja vu, that's because outdoor dining has been stuck in bureaucratic purgatory since the city formalized its pandemic-era Open Restaurants program. In 2023, the city imposed seasonal restrictions requiring that roadway dining sheds be taken down every winter. What followed was a costly, time-consuming approval process that left restaurateurs shelling out tens of thousands of dollars for compliant sheds, insurance and lawyers-yet then paying again to dismantle everything come winter."
"At the height of the pandemic, between 6,000 and 8,000 New York City restaurants operated outdoor setups, according to reporting by Gothamist . But, by last fall, fewer than 3,000 remained and only a fraction of those were roadway sheds. Just a few hundred establishments managed to secure full approval under the current rules, while thousands more limped along on conditional permits as applications piled up at City Hall."
""These measures will help small businesses survive and adapt by clearing up policies of the past that can lead to closures and job loss," she said. "Preventing job loss is vital to maintaining New York as the economic capital of the world.""
City Council intends to overhaul outdoor dining rules to allow year-round al fresco dining and reduce regulatory burdens on restaurants. Seasonal restrictions imposed in 2023 required roadway dining sheds to be dismantled every winter, creating costly, time-consuming approval cycles and repeated expenses for compliant sheds, insurance, and legal help. Outdoor dining peaked at an estimated 6,000 to 8,000 setups during the pandemic but dropped to fewer than 3,000 by last fall, with only a few hundred fully approved. The reform aims to help small businesses survive, avoid closures and job losses, and stabilize the restaurant sector.
Read at Time Out New York
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