NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Outdoor dining in New York City is likely here to stay.
The New York City Council approved zoning for the city's outdoor dining program, which gained popularity during COVID-19, at a meeting on Thursday. With one abstention, the vote was 43 to 6.
"This is the first step in establishing a permanent outdoor dining program that balances the many considerations of neighborhoods to ensure the needs of these critical small businesses are aligned with the quality-of-life needs of our neighborhoods," said Council Speaker Adrienne Adams.
The action taken on Thursday lifts restrictions that had limited outdoor dining to primarily the boroughs of Manhattan prior to the pandemic.
The "Open Restaurants" program, enacted under former Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2020, provided critical economic support to the city's restaurants and bars, giving patrons additional seating amid social distancing restrictions.
However, some people have objected to the structures, citing noise, traffic, the risk of accidents, along with other concerns.
The city's Department of Transportation, which oversees the program, is expected to be more stringent.
"This program is really being planned for a post-COVID scenario where you can dine outside when that feels nice and comfortable, but you won't need to be in a house on the street," Julie Schipper, program director for the Department of Transportation, told ABC 7.
Andrew Rigie, the New York City Hospitality Alliance’s executive director, commended the City Council on Thursday for approving the text amendment, calling the move "an important milestone for the future of alfresco dining and New York City’s economic recovery."
Brooklyn Councilman Kalman Yeger calls outdoor dining setups that aren't used a blight on the cityscape, but he's not against outdoor dining in a different form.
"I don't object to an eatery putting a table or two in front of its place on its footprint on the sidewalk and putting a couple of chairs there, what I do object to is the permanentizing of the removal of that area from the people who otherwise would use the sidewalk," he said.
Yeger said writing a blank check for any restaurant in any neighborhood to add expanded outdoor dining is not the way to go.
"There is zero regulation," Yeger said.
As for dining sheds that take up entire city blocks in some cases, the DOT has said the goal is to remove them, but Yeger said the bill passed Thursday doesn't do that. Opponents said they take up too much parking and attract rats.
In the meantime, the current standards set by de Blasio's emergency program are in place through 2022.
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