Council reportedly passed the legislation ... and it is now awaiting the signature of Mayor Adams to become official. District 1 City Councilmember Christopher Marte voted no, as the Commercial Observer reported, "on the basis that it would allow bad actors to continue with outdoor dining for years at a time."
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City Council is expected to vote today to make outdoor dining a permanent part of the NYC street landscape.
Per Gothamist:
The bill, sponsored by Council Member Marjorie Velázquez with vocal support from Mayor Eric Adams, has gone through multiple revisions since it was first introduced in February of last year, as the Adams administration and Council members have spent more than a year in negotiations for a permanent setup.In the latest version, roadway cafes will be allowed from April until the end of November. Sidewalk seating will be authorized for restaurants year-round with the proper permitting, which covers a four-year period. Curb-based roadway seating will require a separate permit spanning the same length of time, with each permit costing $1,050, according to the bill text.
As City & State previously noted, "The establishment of a permanent outdoor dining program has been held up in part by lawsuits, but also by disagreements between City Hall and the Council on what the program should look like."
The most recent lawsuit to end the pandemic-era Open Restaurants program was filed last month. As Streetsblog reported:
The suit, filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, makes many of the plaintiffs' previous arguments about the open restaurant program taking away parking, causing noise and congestion, and allegedly inviting rats to move in (though this has been debunked).But central to the latest effort to undermine the restaurant industry is the claim that the city itself has deconstructed its own pandemic edicts and, as a result, should do the same with the restaurant program.
Meanwhile, if passed, there's still a lengthy approval process for a restaurant to receive streetside dining status. Take it away, Streetsblog:
Business owners will have to send their petitions for outdoor dining to DOT, the Council, the borough president, and the local community board, the latter of which will have 40 days to give recommendations on whether to approve the applications.
If the business is in a historic district or adjacent to a landmark, it will also need to get approval from the Landmarks Preservation Commission.
The Council can review petitions and hold a vote on whether to approve them.
And one question we've heard people ask: If City Council passes this legislation, what does that mean for the outdoor structures that restaurants and cafes set up during the temporary program? According to various published reports, those streeteries that don't comply with the new rules must come down by Nov. 1, 2024.
Based on the blurbs here, this seems like a good, common-sense solution. Of course the outdoor dining was never going to go away fully, so the obvious answer is to crack down on the bad actors polluting our streets with disgusting sheds and let the good ones stay. A bad shed is a blight on the street, but good street dining is 100x more valuable to the community than two spots of street parking
ReplyDeleteI don't really understand how roadside outdoor dining works practically if it's only part of the year. To do this correctly, a significant investment and construction is required. It doesn't feel like a temporary solution is going to be very realistic...
ReplyDeleteYup, just more added costs for resturant owners to build and tear down these structures year after year.
ReplyDeletePlease do away with these things already.
ReplyDeletethe sheds are rat infested shanty shack jokes at this point and have been and continue to be extremely detrimental to those who live anywhere near them. they only seem to be there now to boost square footage & profits of mostly over priced restaurants what has happened in the area's of neighborhoods that have clusters of sheds since summer 2020 is despicable
ReplyDeleteregulation and enforcement of hygiene and noise issues ( of which there are many ) is going to be impossible as outdoor music is already a no no but trying to get it shut off is well next to impossible the city council/CB3 has screwed us residents in favor of tourists and transient renters so hard and in so many ways
Enough already with these sheds. Why does this one industry get this special treatment? It’s not like we are all gonna starve if we don’t have outdoor sheds. Eat indoors. Eat at home. The restaurants get special treatment at everyone else’s expense.
ReplyDeleteI agree with @8:21 AM. The sheds, properly maintained, are a plus to the community and in some cases a lifeline for a restaurant. Tourism brings in a lot of money and no one ever got on an airplane to experience a parking space.
ReplyDeleteA lot of these sheds take up former metered spots which can and are used sometimes by local residents or people with disabilities or those who drive them, and are put to good use. It's not all "free parking". Drop the BS already.
ReplyDeleteThe pandemic has been declared officially to be "over" therefore those dining sheds have no reason to exist. The dining sheds need to GO, NOW, and never return. No excuses.
ReplyDeleteNot sure i understand the vitriol from responses like 2:08. As horrible as it was, the pandemic lead to some great things that should be here to stay. Just like I hope we'll never again be asking workers to sit in the office five days a week, I hope (well-maintained) outdoor dining sticks around
ReplyDeleteSheds are playhouses. Sitting in the gutter or on the sidewalk. Gotta go. Trolls be damned!!! Nyc has more crap to be worried about!!
ReplyDelete@2:40: Why do you say @2:08 is "vitriol" when that comment is a simple and straightforward statement of FACT, namely that the sheds were never meant to be permanent (that was made clear from the get-go).
ReplyDeleteHere's an idea: If restaurants want to operate the way they did when the pandemic was in full swing, then (a) they can't have indoor seating, and (b) mask-wearing is required, along with proof of vaccination. We'll need them to operate as if the pandemic is a current and ongoing risk.
Just because people have a different perspective does not make them trolls, folks. Fun fact, in the real world a lot of people are supportive of well-maintained outdoor dining. There is a middle ground between the wild west of these things and none at all.
ReplyDeleteThe restaurant lobby is powerful. It's a shame for the residents in the low-rise buildings all around these restaurants. None of us signed up for the music and noise and trash and congestion on our sidewalks.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good compromise. Outdoor dining when the weather makes sense, and it has to be removed when it doesn’t make sense. Good work.
ReplyDeleteThe usual car parking bogeyman rears it's head. I park on the street and if I'm not using my car I get up and move it for the sweeper as do many of my neighbors. As far as I can tell the sheds never move for the streets to be cleaned. Under this new program they won't either. If you buy that the rat increase isn't attributable to the shacks your got your head in a rat hole. Finally no matter how noisy a bar or restaurant is at least they were inside, now that noise is all over the street. You can hear the roar of the pack that frequents the very cheap happy hour at A10 kitchen on A between 10th and 11th when you are a block away.
ReplyDeleteA collection of private businesses has just confiscated our public streets for their profit only. There is no other way to look at this. Bonus prize enjoy the smell of rat shit and urine while you eat.
ReplyDelete@5:55pm: It only sounds like a "good compromise" to you b/c you evidently do not live anywhere near these dining shed hellholes. YOU are not inconvenienced by blaring music and loud talk late into the night, when you have to get up for work in the morning (or just want to sleep in on the weekend). YOU get to go right home to your non-dining-shed neighborhood. YOU get to walk away from all the things that make people hate dining sheds.
ReplyDeleteIf dining sheds were the nirvana that people like to make them sound like, they'd be ON upper 5th Avenue from around 70th - 90th streets, and ON Park Avenue from 60th - 86th streets, and they'd be RIGHT OUTSIDE Gracie Mansion and also Bloomberg's double-wide townhouse. But dining sheds aren't in any of those places, are they? Now, why do you imagine that would be, hmmm?
You should be very sad that the rich & powerful "miss out" on the vitality and energy that dining sheds bring to the city! Don't you feel sorry for them, and don't you think they should be required to have dining sheds so they can be guaranteed to share in the JOY and FUN they bring to New York?
Have restaurants downstairs from where I live. The streets are always noisy on a weekend, even without outdoor dining. Welcome to current day East Village.
ReplyDeletePlenty of quiet neighborhoods in Queens.
DeleteAside from that it’s a horrible idea, is loud and filthy, they really are getting an incredible deal. Practically for free. Why? Some places have increased their space by 400% if they’re in a corner. There is no assistance for other type of businesses and at this point, we should there be? There’s a minor uptick in Covid, but it’s essentially over. Get rid of the shacks. I saw after it was approved that businesses were complaining that they would have to take the shacks down and put it back up. No one is forcing you to do this. You’re ranking in tens of thousands of dollars for a minor fee. What will happen now, it’s all retail leases will go up in price because they will assume that they can take over the sidewalk and street. This will lead to even less diversity in our businesses.
ReplyDeleteGet rid of the sheds!
ReplyDeleteThey served their purpose in the pandemic emergency. We are past this now and restaurants continue to utilize spaces, often double their acutual resturant space. Free.
On the other hand: I'd like to open my private business and build a shed in a parking space. Sounds good right??
Just watched the entire hearing* (video available on City Council website). Bottcher, Marte and 9 others voted No. Guess who voted Aye? Why, Carlina Rivera, of course. Guess she doesn’t get out much.
ReplyDeleteOther No votes came from Barron, Carr (a Staten Island Republican), Holden, Mealy, Paladino, Ressler, Stevens, Vernikov (another Republican), and Yeger.
Even some who voted Aye expressed skepticism that the DOT would be able to enforce the new rules, ESPECIALLY SINCE THE RULES DO NOT YET EXIST.
*Hyperlocal policy wonk or masochist? You decide!
Thank you @7:52pm. Said perfectly. I don't know how the city thought it was ok for our tax-paid public space be given to the restaurant industry. Since this started, restaurants have gotten greedy and selfish! Loud music! Loud drunk patrons. Massive sheds. Crazy prices. Taking over ENTIRE sidewalk space. And they have the nerve to complain that they don't get to have our public space year round?! F off! I will be visiting Carla Rivera's office next week. Hope others do the same. She voted yes for this. And I may even bring a few tables and chairs and loud speakers in front of her office to see how she likes it.
ReplyDeleteThere is ZERO enforcement. It's annoying AF to walk around when chalkboards are in the middle of the sidewalk, between two sets of chairs and a big wooden structure. The restaurants have been doing whatever thy want and I don't trust the DOT to be able to handle any of this. Plus they close streets for a couple of restaurants and bars to have at it every day with zero community input. And the restaurant people have the nerve to act entitled to it now if there are restrictions "they're taking away our livelihood". F off. So tired of it. Moderation is the key.
ReplyDeleteThank you Christopher Marte for voting no. Now please get rid of this "open street" on Canal, it's completely ruining our neighborhood and it's such a bummer. It has made the neighborhood some big party zone and NOBODY asked for it. It's jus a couple of bars and and a restaurant that are literally changing the neighborhood by taking over the street every single day - one of which was not even open during the pandemic! it's really bad.
ReplyDeleteI do like to listen in also. You can find it here
ReplyDeletehttps://legistar.council.nyc.gov/Calendar.aspx
Choose 8/3/2023 1:30pm meeting. I forget but 9 or 11 districts voted against it, including district 1 (Chris Marte) which covers Lower East Side.
Good points made at minute
53:00
54:45
60:04