Tuesday, June 23, 2020

Phase II dining, here we go


[Photo at Tallgrass Burger on 1st Avenue by Sonya]

Phase 2 commenced yesterday, and with that, bars and restaurants with permits for Phase 2 open space are now OK to serve food and drinks on newly created sidewalk, and in some cases, street spaces. (No indoor dining yet!)

As Gothamist reported, as of yesterday morning, there have been 3,192 applicants for additional Phase 2 outdoor space, per the Mayor's Office and city's Department of Transportation.

Here's a sampling of East Village establishments and what they're doing to make outdoor dining available... there are tables in the parking spaces adjacent to the bike lane and roadway on Second Avenue between Fifth Street and Sixth Street outside Local 92 and Frank... via EVG regular Lola Saénz...




[Tarallucci e Vino, 1st Avenue at 10th Street]




[Tatsu Ramen, 1st Avenue]

... these photos are all from Steven...


[Miss Lily's, 7th and A]


[Mudspot Café, 9th Street]


[Kitchen Sink, 5th Street at 2nd Avenue]




[St. Dymphna's, Avenue A]


[Tacos Cuautla Morelos, 9th Street]

Elsewhere... Lucien has a few socially distant tables here on First Avenue ...



... and Rosie's on Second Avenue at Second Street already had ample outdoor space...


... and on Second Street between Avenue A and Avenue B, Il Posto Accanto has sidewalk and curb seating...


[Via @ilpostoaccanto]

We'll have an update later this week as more restaurants get their outdoor seating together...

The city released guidelines (document here) for safely dining out ... here's a recap via Grub Street:

Customers themselves are advised to limit their exposure by making reservations in advance and looking at menus online, practice social distancing and hand hygiene; to also wear coverings; and stay home if they are either sick or vulnerable to the coronavirus. The guidelines don’t account for how these rules will be enforced across the city, and there is the issue of whether customers and business owners actually comply.

And check out Eater's explainer on Phase 2 dining here.

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

While I am in favor of using parking for seating, I wish DeBlasio reinstated alternative side of the street parking before this began. My side street is filthy in places and now the roped off areas will block the street cleaners. It would make sense if the restaurants were required to remove tables, etc. along with cars at the designated times but I doubt that will happen

Choresh Wald said...

I hope Tacos Morelos wIll be able to move the seating to the roadway, the sidewalk on 9th street is too narrow

Anonymous said...

As a consumer, I will wait to dine inside. The dirty streets smell of garbage and urine. And with the humidity, who can sit outside for long stretches of time. Not to mention the fireworks going on during day and night. I am looking forward to phase 3.

Anonymous said...

Gotta love the couple with the fancy bottle dining in front of a huge dumpster. How romantic.

Anonymous said...

Good for those who can eat under these conditions, but I will not be joining them in eating with the ripe aroma of NYC summer + vehicle exhaust.

Anonymous said...

Hope this doesn't become a noise issue. Some of these make sense, and some are forced and uncomfortable. Also difficult issue to block the side of the road as these are our passageways around the city for bikes, cars and other vehicles to carry people and items and we need to keep them clear. Less areas to use the side of the road means more congestion.

However, we need to do what we have to do for the time being, so I'm glad restaurants will be able to make some money.

Anonymous said...

I'm looking to eating outside some of my favorite restaurants who need our support now more than ever to survive this.

And if you don't like the NYC weather and street ambiance, you know where you can go back to.

Anonymous said...

If business go away that is sad, more will come back in time. Yeah...I'm hoping this ends up being safer than it looks for those that must have their brunch.

Anonymous said...

Reminder - street closing/reduced lanes to enable restaurant dining will be a major problem for delivery workers and drivers - mostly POC getting paid very little.

NYC should be reducing taxes for small, independent stores and restaurants. And institute commercial rent protection.

Anonymous said...

Curious how you know the wine is fancy. The bottle looks fancy because its not a screw top?

Anonymous said...

I've lived here for a very long time and I don't want to eat in the street with cars whizzing by, what the heck for? I can still support by getting take out. Why do we always have to assign some kind of label or tell people to go back to the burbs, just for expressing an opinion?

Anonymous said...

Thanks to reading Streetsblog for a couple years, I don't feel safe sitting that close to any active roadway. I order takeout as much as I can lately but if this is the new normal then I'll have to settle for being a weirdo. Was never a fan of sidewalk dining during the best of times anyways. Feel so sorry for all these restaurant owners and workers now having to do business on these gross streets.

Anonymous said...

My concern is walking past diners on both sides of the sidewalk. It is virtually impossible to maintain social distancing when someone is sitting on a chair at a table as you walk past them on a narrow path. Either way you're coming into contact with another person. The other night I was walking home on my street and there were too many people seated outside. I couldn't even walk on the street because there was an area designated for more dining guests. So, I had to cross the block and walk away and then re-cross the street just to make it to my apartment which was several feet away from the diners I mentioned. I am going to have to do this daily because I don't feel comfortable when others are eating, talking or drinking without their masks, which is understandable given they need access to their mouths. A bit of a hassle really but what can I do? I am certainly aware businesses in our beloved EV area are hungry for revenue, clientele and are doing what they can to pay the bills. Like the other commenter said though, I too will stick to take out and delivery to show my support until I feel safe to enter an establishment. Just no sitting outside for me. We still are in a pandemic kiddos. Stay cool out there.

Anonymous said...

I agree. I so much am looking forward to dining out curbside. I am done with take out.

The solution to the traffic exhaust is to, well close off some of the streets to traffic. If NYPD can close all of lower Manhattan to traffic, with little effort, what's a few blocks?

Emily said...

If you don’t want to eat outside, don’t. Why the need to comment about that here? Did I miss a question asking people to leave a comment if they would dine outside or not? Wondering why there aren’t more comments along the lines of: I’m glad if this means that restaurant owners will help maintain these new street spots and the city will support by keeping streets clean and limiting car traffic. Would love a more European approach to outdoor dining. Restaurant owners are getting creative and I’ll support with takeout if I feel like it’s too crowded. I’m in no rush these days and happy to walk around the restaurant goers if that helps my local businesses. How else can we support if outdoor dining isn’t for us? Etc.

noble neolani said...

Does anyone know how late restaurants will be serving each night? Am I wrong to think bars are included in this plan? You haven't figured out where I am going with this, the woo!s are coming back too!

Anonymous said...

@ Emily. The blog is called EV Grieve for a reason. If you want to opine to the positive feel free, but if we want to kvetch that's our prerogative.

Anonymous said...

Just walked home up Ave A and had to zig zag all the way to avoid walking through essentially an aisle of unmasked people eating and drinking. The aisle I describe is due to tables and chairs up against bar and restaurant facades on the westside of the sidewalk, tables and chairs on the sidewalk or street on the eastside leaving little less than 4 to 6 feet to walk through. So it is impossible to practice social distancing. The hookah joint that was the sight of a shootout, Hatay I think, dumped tables in a pen on the street and had a few tables pressed up against the facade with hookahs blazing. Walking between this scene was like watching those football games or basketball games when the players run out of the tunnel with smoke all around them. Hookah smoke has got to spread COVID. The vast majority of the restaurants and bars did not have the required spacing between tables, chairs and customers. A few did, but most did not. The corner of 7th and A was the worst. The City has no ability to regulate this so my fear is this will turn into a complete shit show with untested people just all in eachothers grill, which is a pandemic waiting to happen. Thanks to our elected officials for thinking this through.

Anonymous said...

@4:19pm: What is a "European approach to dining"? Would that involve encouraging everyone to start smoking while eating, so that the streets of NYC can be like the ones in France?

I think we should just have the "NYC approach to dining" - either eat outdoors, or order takeout. This ain't rocket science!

Anonymous said...

I think there's a major difference between sidewalk and curbside eating on the streets, and doing so on the avenues, especially the busy ones like A, 1st & 2nd.
There, a fatal accident is waiting to happen. At least few places are putting some cover over your head. Without it, sitting in the parking lane, exposed to summer sun and humidity, with cars passing by in the lane next to you, is not great.

I also bumped already, biking in the path, with waiters carrying food plates to the tables on the road.

Anonymous said...

You can speak to the business. There are limitations as to who’s eligible due to space restrictions outside.
You can contact your local leaders:

Harvey Epstein state assembly
epsteinh@nyassembly.gov

Carlina River council member
District2@council.nyc.gov

Gale Brewer manhattan borough president
info@manhattanbp.nyc.gov

Brad Hoylman senate
hoylman@nysenate.gov

Carolyn Maloney...***de blasio***...cuomo...

State Liquor Authority

You can contact 311
https://portal.311.nyc.gov/article/?kanumber=KA-03320
Outdoor Dining
To report an Open Restaurant not following program guidelines, including seating areas that are blocking streets or sidewalks, visit the Outdoor Dining Complaint page.
Health and Safety
Open Restaurants, like other businesses, must follow State-mandated health and safety guidelines for their industry. To report a business that isn’t following health and safety rules, go to the Business Reopening Complaint page.
Food Safety
You can report problems with food safety practices in Open Restaurants, including unsanitary conditions and pests. Learn more on the Restaurant, Deli, or Food Cart Complaint page.
Social Distancing and Face Coverings
To report overcrowding at an Open Restaurant, visit the Social Distancing Complaint page.
To report a lack of face coverings where a 6-foot distance from others isn’t maintained, visit the Face Covering Violation page. 
Noise
To report noise from a food establishment, visit the Noise from Bar, Club, or Restaurant page.

How smoking a hookah in a sidewalk table out in public is legal, does seem questionable to me.

Anonymous said...

@8:01pm
There needs to
Be an 8 foot clearance on the sidewalk for pedestrians.

You can talk to businesses first. if no results you can contact 311, see here:
https://portal.311.nyc.gov/article/?kanumber=KA-03320

Sidewalk Seating
https://www1.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/pedestrians/openrestaurants.shtml

* Sidewalk seating area may not exceed business frontage
* Sidewalk seating must be adjacent to the building and maintain an 8 foot clear path free from certain obstructions between the seating and the curb and a 3 foot clear path on either side
* Sidewalk seating must not be in a bus stop
* Sidewalk seating area must not block doorways, standpipes, or Siamese connections
* Tables and chairs must be provided by applicant

Roadway Seating
* Roadway seating must be 8 feet wide and may not exceed length of business frontage
* Roadway seating cannot be installed within a bus stop
* Roadway seating must be sited at least 15 feet from a hydrant and 8 feet from a crosswalk
* Roadway seating cannot be set up where curb regulation is No Standing Anytime, No Stopping Anytime, carshare parking space(s), in a bike lane, or bus lane or stop
* Roadway seating may be set up where curb regulation is part time No Standing or No Stopping provided all barriers, seating, and ramps are removed when No Standing or No Stopping is in effect
* Seating must be separated from the travel lane with a barrier
* If located on a street with more than two travel lanes, barrier must be min 18-24 inches wide, such as planters, spaced maximum 4 feet apart
* If located on a street with two travel lanes or less, barrier may be vertical element such as stanchions, barricades, or planters, spaced at maximum 5 feet apart
* Barriers should not be higher than 36 inches tall, excluding plantings
* Tables, chairs, and barriers must be provided by applicant
Prepare Documents to Self-Certify
Food establishments meeting NYC's Open Restaurants requirements, may apply for the program. Please have the following information available to apply:
* Business name (DBA), address and contact information
* Food Service Establishment Permit number
* Dimensions of sidewalk and/or roadway seating areas
Establishments planning to serve alcohol must also provide:
* State Liquor Authority ("SLA") serial number
* SLA license information
* Licensee certification
Apply Online
To speed up the approval process, NYC is allowing food establishments to self-certify that they meet program requirements.

Anonymous said...

Having seen the outdoor seating on 2nd Avenue between 5th and 6th Streets by Frank, Vera and Nomad I have to wonder just who is going to be held liable when a car, bus, truck, bicycle ends up hitting those barriers accidentally, or on purpose? Those seats and tables may be six feet apart for social distancing, but they are mere inches from traffic barreling down the avenue at speeds that exceed the speed limit. Carbon monoxide exhaust blowing right into their lungs. Not to mention that you have to cross over the bike lane to get to or from these tables and we all know how attentive bike riders are these days. Hope I don't have to watch any bloody people being taken away by ambulances. Dumbest idea ever.

Anonymous said...

I am very nervous about stepping onto sidewalks now here where there are packed tables and patrons about. I've been walking in the street when they're aren't customers eating their meals on their tables near the cars. Yes. 8 feet is what we should have on a sidewalk. Instead, we have 4 feet if we are lucky. Not good. I wish businesses factored in the safety of fellow neighbors who have a right to walk to and from without being in danger or discomfort.

Anonymous said...

Hope this doesn't become a noisy free-for-all like it's been