NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday announced the executive order to extend the Open Storefronts program that aims to help New York City small businesses amid the COVID pandemic.
The program will run through Sept. 30, 2021 and will expand the number of restaurants retail stores that can use sidewalks to sell pre-packed take-out food as part of NYC’s Economic Recovery Plan.
"We want to allow restaurants and to get out there and make their products available for take-out, right out there on the sidewalk," de Blasio said.
"We think that's going to help them as they fight to survive in this environment," he noted.
This new feature of the Open Storefronts program would allow the use of sidewalks for restaurants and ground-floor businesses to take outdoor operations and do take-out.
"The extension of the Open Storefronts program will help our small businesses survive this pandemic," Small Business Services Commissioner Jonnel Doris said.
"This is fantastic news for our small businesses," he added.