Al fresco dining will give New York City a European-style flavor this summer. Mayor Eric Adams just opened the online application portal for “New York City’s outdoor dining program”, the nation’s largest such program. Small and big businesses can access more dining outdoor space for the next few months. Restaurants and pubs that are already participating in the temporary program must apply as well to keep their current outdoor setups.
Started during the COVID-19 pandemic to save thousands of jobs across the city and established as permanent by Adams’ administration last August, this plan aims to create vibrant public spaces and strengthen the sense of community and, consequently, improve quality of life for New Yorkers.
“We’re getting outdoor dining right, getting sheds down, getting trash off our streets, and fundamentally changing what it feels like to be outside in New York City,” said Mayor Adams. “The portal we’re opening today will make it easy for restaurants to participate in Dining Out NYC, build setups that work for diners, owners, neighbors, and our city, and continue to hire workers and serve satisfied customers. We’ve locked in the best parts of the pandemic program and done away with the worst, and I can’t wait to dine out this summer!”
Through their website, the owners and restaurateurs can check the 2024 guidelines that the program establishes and download sample blueprints of the outdoor prototypes. For the first time, businesses that participate in the plan are required to clean around the structures pushing for neat and rat-free environments. There are four different outdoor dining setup prototypes: the Corner Setup; the Mid-Block Setup; the Floating Parking Lane Setup; and, the Steep Street Setup. All of them need to be easily movable and visible on the street.
