Photos by Stacie Joy
You have one week to dine in one of the neighborhood's remaining pandemic-era dining structures.
By the end of the day on Nov. 29, bars and restaurants must remove street dining structures to align with the city's permanent Dining Out NYC program.
As previously noted, the significant change with the new guidelines is that enclosed, year-round roadway dining structures will no longer be permitted. The revised regulations stipulate that roadway cafes must now be open-air, easily portable, and simple to assemble and dismantle.
Additionally, these establishments are restricted to operating only from April through November. (Sidewalk cafes are permitted year-round.)
Ahead of next Friday, curbside dining structures continue to come down around the neighborhood (and other parts of NYC).
For instance, on Wednesday, workers demolished the large streetery outside Eastpoint on Avenue B between Second Street and Third Street.
With the takedown deadline looming, a cottage industry has popped up...
Here's some background via a Nov. 4 article at Streetsblog about the timing of removing the structures:
Businesses enrolled in the program had to either conform their set-ups to city's new designs to get the extension to Nov. 29 or take down their old-set-ups on Nov. 1. Many opted to simply give up their street seating sooner rather than set up new streeteries for just a few weeks.The city required restaurants to either apply for the permanent program or take down their sheds by early August, which caused the first wave of restaurant demolitions. Those that did sign up for the new program had to bring their roadway set-ups in line with the new design guidelines by Nov. 1; all street seats must come down by Nov. 30, even if they've been updated.
DOT officials have said there were around 3,0000 roadway and sidewalk café applications as of late September. That's in contrast to the 13,000 participating in the temporary program in 2020.
13 comments:
now, if we can just get rid of the Citi bike racks
All this for what, slightly more parking for *part* of the year? I don't get it.
No, leave the city bike racks alone get rid of the cars parking everywhere causing fossil fuel pollution and endangering our planet. Bicycles are one of the answers to New York City transportation.
the vast majority of eateries won't reapply, as they can't take on constructing a d removing the structures each year—most of the structures won't ever be back
Good riddance! I don't want anything to remind me of the horrible COVID era.
I second Good Riddance!
Good riddance! We must cede more of our space to cars!! Cars make this city run! If not for cars how could we get to work or the bar or grocery store or school! Imagine! How dare something nice and cozy - especially in winter when outdoor dining is cold - be allowed to take the space
Or a car! And while we are at it. Get rid of the citi bikes. That’s communism! We are Americans first and New Yorkers second! Finally - let’s raze all of soho and build a super Walmart there instead! With 10,000 parking spaces!
Jeez - do people who comment here even live in the neighborhood? Were they raised here? I can’t believe these comments.
There were issues with the structure - no question. But just to carte Blanche remove ALL of them (many were nice) without an auditing of compliance, and then simply cede the space to cars is so so so ridiculous and sad to me. Shameful.
No, for quality of life. Less garbage, fewer rats, fewer safe-havens for drug addicts, fewer spray-painted shanty eye sores
No, they were awful writ large. They harbor rats, disease, prevent the city fom properly maintaining the roads and prevent EMS from GETTING ANYWHERE efficiently. I am all for reducing cars in lower Manhattan for that reason alone, but you have to unclog the road of debris like this stuff too. Traffic conditions were made worse because we setup Home Depot sheds on our narrow roads that made it near impossible for any ambulance or fire truck to navigate.
Chairs and an umbrella on sidewalk is all you need. Oh yeah, restaurants can pay for the space.
Question for you, do you know how most goods and services arrive in NYC? Hint, it’s NOT on bikes.
New rules, new set of problems. All the people who use the Sheds for peeing, pooping, screwing and doing drugs aren't going away. Without an enclosed structure- mini forts actually - there are going to be more harassment and theft issues of the patrons (sitting ducks) for street lowlifes and petty criminals. A couple of weeks ago I saw two big ass security guards outside of Cipriani on W Broadway keeping watch over the outside table diners. Hate to be a Debbie Downer but more exposed tables and chairs means more street hassles - to say nothing of the more serious stabbings, 2 man moped stickups, and lit Bros using those lightweight tables and chairs as weapons of combat.
Finally! That place has been blasting club music every weekend with no regard for residents. How are they allowed to play music that loud? Why are we allowing it? Happy to see these sheds go; they signal to everyone that anything goes—take up as much space as you want, blast speakers, takeover the sidewalk. Enough already! Take them all down. I see a few still up on 4th street between A and B....GO AWAY! Anyone who says they're for outdoor dining don't live on a street with them. I haven't been able to have my windows open for 4 years bc of loud drunk women screaming while talking to each other. ENOUGH.
And all the greedy restaurants that knew they'd get away with it, just left their bullshit structures up anyway and got away with it.
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