Launching This Summer: New Outdoor Dining Program That Prioritizes Safety

By Yehudit Garmaise

Once the sunny weather returns this summer, Dining Out NYC setups can line the New York City streets, now that Mayor Eric Adams finalized new, clear guidelines for restaurant owners.

“We can't wait to see the whole city dining al fresco in style this summer,” Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi said about the largest outdoor dining program in the country. 

After the fully enclosed outdoor dining structures from the formerly named “Open Restaurants” program during the pandemic created safety hazards by allowing for blocked sidewalks, rat infestations, and criminal activity, the public voiced many concerns.

To retool the outdoor dining program that saved 100,000 jobs and kept restaurants afloat during the lockdowns, the mayor, the Department of Transportation (DOT), and the Department of Small Business Services (SBS) used the experiences of the past several years to clarify new rules for outdoor dining.

Now, restaurant owners who want to apply to participate in the newly named Dining Out NYC must comply with rules, such as ensuring that tables and chairs do not block sidewalk paths, emergency roadway lines, subway entrances, and fire hydrants.

Also, replacing the fully-enclosed wooden shacks of the temporary, COVID--era program, restaurant owners now much create more temporary “open-air” set-ups with “easily moveable furniture and coverings.” 

To prevent attracting pests, restaurant owners will be required to install “water-filled, rat-resistant protective barriers for roadway setups.”

Before 2020, New York City only permitted outdoor dining on Manhattan’s sidewalks, but Dining Out NYC will expand to all five boroughs: year-round outdoor dining citywide on the sidewalks and from April 1 to Nov. 29, in the roadways. 

Participation fees will be “significantly lower fees than those under the previous sidewalk café program,” the mayor said, and those rates will vary by location and setup size.

Starting in March, restaurant owners can apply to participate in the first phase of Dining Out NYC on an application portal.

Once approved, restaurant owners must comply with the structural requirements of the Dining Out NYC within 30 days.

Then, the DOT will notify all approved restaurants to submit applications for a Dining Out NYC program that will be a permanent arrangement.