Many New York City restaurant owners who participated in the outdoor dining program faced complicated and expensive obstacles when the city announced new rules to standardize and formalize the program. Megan Rickerson, the owner of Someday Bar, spent thousands of dollars just to comply with the new regulations. Despite concerns about the costs, the city required businesses to reapply by August of last year to replace their ad hoc setups with uniform structures to avoid fines. Few businesses applied for permits under the new program, with only a fraction receiving full approval for their structures.
Data from the city’s Department of Transportation reveals that only about 3,400 restaurants out of over 20,000 have applied for sidewalk or roadway dining permits under the new guidelines. While some businesses have received conditional approval for their setups, concerns about costs and complications persist. The new program’s rules aim to address complaints about parking space obstruction and eyesores, requiring lightweight structures that can be easily removed. However, the seasonality of the program has deterred many small restaurants, as they would need to build, disassemble, store, and set up their setups every year.
The issue of outdoor dining regulations has sparked debate among mayoral candidates, with some proposing changes to allow year-round outdoor dining and ease the application process. The City Council has sought to strike a balance between accessibility and regulation for restaurant owners participating in the program. Some owners, like Antonia Joannides of Queen’s Room in Astoria, opted for sidewalk dining permits instead of roadway permits due to concerns about the city’s readiness to implement the new rules. For many businesses, forgoing roadway dining entirely was not an option despite the expenses involved.
Despite challenges, some restaurants like Elder Greene in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, see outdoor dining as a crucial opportunity to expand their seating capacity. Brandon Longo, the bar’s owner, highlighted the importance of utilizing the roadway space to accommodate more customers and generate more revenue. While some owners feel pressured to get their outdoor operations up and running, others, like Ms. Joannides, are navigating the complexities of the new program to ensure patrons can enjoy outdoor dining safely. The debate over outdoor dining regulations is likely to continue as restaurant owners and city officials grapple with finding a balance between compliance, affordability, and customer experience.
