
NYC’s permanent outdoor dining program, “Dining Out NYC,” has been finalized by Mayor Eric Adams, New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez, and Chief Public Realm Officer Ya-Ting Liu. With new rules set to go into effect, plenty of changes are in store.
NYC first saw outdoor dining structures arise during the pandemic, when indoor dining was not permitted in NYC at the time. These sidewalk cafés and streeteries soon became crucial for small businesses’ success. Legislation was even passed in the summer of 2023 permitting outdoor dining for every restaurant across every neighborhood in the five boroughs, when it was almost exclusively just in Manhattan at one point.
Now, further official rules have been outlined for the city’s “Dining Out NYC” program that launched in March 2024. Learning from the mistakes made during the pandemic-era’s temporary outdoor dining program, the final rules hope to prioritize equity, and strengthen access to safe, clean outdoor dining across all boroughs.
What do restaurant owners and diners need to know about the final new rules? First off, businesses will pay their yearly fee based off of the length and width of their new roadway/sidewalk cafe. Secondly, no new structures are allowed to be fully enclosed. Furthermore, though sidewalk cafes are permitted year-round, roadway cafes can only operate for an eight-month season from April to November.
“After several years under a temporary program, New Yorkers finally have rules to govern the future of outdoor dining,” said Maulin Mehta, New York director, Regional Plan Association. “The new program balances business and community needs to improve our streets and give all neighborhoods an opportunity to enjoy alfresco dining.”
An online application portal for “Dining Out NYC” is open to restaurants, and Commissioner Rodriguez is encouraging businesses to be proactive.
“We would like to encourage everyone in the industry who is ready to apply or file an application with DOT to please be ready,” Rodriguez said. “ We are almost in the middle of February. As everyone knows, this is a seasonal program; that’s how the council voted, and we work together with the New York City Council on the program, going from April 1 to Nov. 29.”
However, news broke on Wednesday, February 12th via Grub Street that out of the nearly 4,000 applications that have been submitted, the Department of Transportation allegedly only approved 40 of them to proceed, which means outdoor dinning could look very minimal. City Comptroller Brad Landen, who is worried about the future come April 1st, has promised New Yorkers that he would provide weekly figures on outdoor-dining permits via social media. The DOT has responded, saying one-third of the applications were unqualified, and the remaining two-thirds have moved on in the review process, and it’s up to community boards and the comptroller to give the green light.
We know outdoor dining will look different in terms of structure, but what about the quantity of streeteries? We will keep you updated as we get closer to April 1st.
You can find more detailed information on the new program here.