NEW YORK (WABC) — Outdoor dining was a lifeline during the pandemic, giving people a way to get out and socialize and allowing many restaurant owners to stay in business.
Last year, the rules changed to only allow outdoor dining from April until November.
But, a new proposal from New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin would bring outdoor dining sheds back year-round.
It’s a polarizing proposal.
Some support outdoor dining.
“You pay monthly for storage. You pay monthly, or you pay for the pickup. It’s an expensive endeavor alone,” said Jeremy Wladis of Harvest Kitchen. “Building one of those things is very expensive. And the city fees and everything else is expensive.”
Wladis owns several restaurants on the Upper West Side, including Harvest Kitchen. He says that he would love to be able to keep the sheds open year-round and save on the set up, tear down and storage fees.
“It’s a savior of a lot of money. And in this business, small money is big money,” Wladis said.
Andrew Rigie of the NYC Hospitality Alliance agrees and lobbied for the year-round rules to return.
“The outdoor dining does help create jobs, helps create small businesses, and it gives New Yorkers and visitors a great opportunity to dine alfresco, which they we know they love,” he said.
Others say it’s a relic of the pandemic and leads to rats and unsanitary conditions.
Menin said on Wednesday that she and the supporters of this proposal have ideas on how to make sure this is palatable for districts where people feel there is “oversaturation.”
“I’m deeply committed to making sure that outdoor dining is year-round. I’m also focused on making it easier for restaurants to be able to have licenses. One of the issues is the very high cost to the revocable consent fees. That’s another area we are looking at, I have a bill that addresses that, that will bring those fees down,” Menin said. “So we can kind of reduce the impediments to outdoor dining. That’s really the goal of the package.”
Mayor Zohran Mamdani has already said he supports a return to year-round outdoor dining.
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