Why outdoor dining in NYC is about to look much different

Arrivederci to New York City's widespread al fresco dining.

Imminent regulations are on track to reduce the number of outdoor dining setups at cafes, bars, restaurants and other establishments.

As of Friday at 4:15 p.m., the number of setups would be down by nearly 85% from the program’s pinnacle.

A total of 1,937 establishments have applied for licenses under the new Dining Out NYC Program, according to Department of Transportation spokesman Nick Benson. That's ahead of a deadline Saturday at 11:59 p.m. for those with existing setups to apply for them to be allowed to remain up while the city processes their applications.

Of those applications, 936 are for sidewalk chairs and tables; 509 are for setups in the roadway, such as sheds; and 492 are for both, Benson said.

That’s down from over 12,000 establishments that had outdoor dining setups during the height of the program, according to a study last year by New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.

A COVID-era boost

The outdoor dining program began as a lifeline for businesses during government-imposed shutdowns amid the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Benson says of the 12,000, even before the new regulations were announced, an unknown number of the establishments had already removed their setups, gone out of business or otherwise decided against continuing to offer outdoor dining. He said the city doesn’t have the current number of establishments doing outdoor dining beyond “several thousand.”

Even those establishments with a permit predating the pandemic program — there were about 1,000 total permit holders and applications in progress, according to the NYU study — must apply anew, Benson said.

New York City's decline is similar to that in Paris, where two years ago an outdoor dining program became seasonal, and the number of structures went down to 4,000 from 12,000.

Mayor Eric Adams' office said in a statement issued in March that the status quo in New York had "led to quality-of-life issues as a subset of restaurant owners were unable to maintain loosely-regulated outdoor dining setups."

Mitchell Moss, one of the study’s co-authors and an NYU professor, criticized city leaders for the new policy.

"They’re destroying one of the great benefits of the pandemic, which is year-round outdoor dining," Moss said earlier this week. He added: "This is a sign of policy failure."

Among other new provisions, the regulations require establishments to have removed roadway structures between Nov. 30 and March 31 of each year. That’s an additional hurdle, particularly for a small business, because it means storage and other costs. There are also regulations limiting the type of structures allowed, as well as a requirement for fees and public hearings for some of them.

Not all support setups

Outdoor dining has meant higher tax revenues, and proponents say it's also spurred more robust street life and more members of the public using spaces that once had been limited to parking.

But outdoor dining hasn’t been universally popular.

Those opposed to it lament the noise created by patrons, the trash generated, and some of the structures that became blighted, as well as the loss of street parking. Newsday reported in 2021 that roughly 10,000 spots, of 3 million, became outdoor dining.

Adams, who signed legislation last year that made outdoor dining permanent but established the new restrictions, said Tuesday he thinks outdoor dining makes for "a great addition to the city" that saved jobs during the pandemic when indoor dining was limited.

Asked about the steep drop-off in applications, Adams said some business owners think outdoor dining will still benefit their establishments and others don’t.

Adams’ deputy for operations, Meera Joshi, noted the COVID-era program was free, but won't be going forward. She said Saturday’s deadline covers just those establishments that want to continue operating on the street for now. The city will continue to accept applications after the deadline, too, for those who don’t have a current setup or those that plan to take down their setups this week before the deadline.

"In November, all the old sheds will come down. Next year, all of the sheds will have the new requirements," she said. "You'll see a lot more uniformity and really much better conditions for all of the sheds."

By Matthew Chayes

matthew.chayes@newsday.comchayesmatthew

Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.