Outdoor dining in New York City is officially rolling back out on April 1, 2026, as the city’s Dining Out NYC roadway program reopens for the season.
Under the current rules, restaurants can once again set up tables in the street, adding sidewalk‑style setups where they already have approvals.
All licensed setups for 2026 are listed on the city’s official Dining Out NYC license tool, where you can search citywide and toggle the number of rows to see every participating spot.
A DOT spokesperson told Secret NYC that the tool is updated periodically as new applications are approved.
How many spots are coming back?
According to DOT estimates, at the start of the April 1, 2026 roadway dining season, roughly 1,800 roadway and/or sidewalk dining setups are eligible to operate outdoor dining citywide.
Of that number, just over 700 are fully licensed, while the rest can operate under pre‑existing conditional sidewalk dining approvals as their full roadway licenses are still pending.
Year‑over‑year participation matches 2025, with leadership at the Department of Transportation noting that the current seasonality of the roadway program is a major barrier to entry for many restaurants.
DOT officials are pushing for the Council to adopt year‑round roadway dining and streamline the application process, which they say is currently too cumbersome for small businesses.
What this means for New Yorkers this spring
For diners, April 1 means many familiar outdoor setups will reappear along streets where they were in 2025, especially in neighborhoods that embraced the Dining Out NYC program, like parts of the Lower East Side, Astoria, and Downtown Brooklyn to name a few.
Some locations will reopen with sidewalk‑only setups while their roadway permits are still in the pipeline, which DOT points out may increase if the city shifts to year‑round roadway dining and faster approvals.
If you want to scout where tables will land this season, you can search the 2026 Dining Out NYC licenses by neighborhood or cuisine and start planning spring brunches, rooftop‑adjacent dinners, and sidewalk dates before the weather really heats up.
Why the city wants to make it permanent
Restaurant owners have repeatedly told DOT that the seasonal April–November window makes it hard to justify the long‑term investment in outdoor infrastructure, especially for places that see strong demand in fall and winter.
Commissioner Ydanis Rodríguez (under acting Commissioner Flynn) has publicly argued for years that year‑round outdoor dining would help keep sidewalks safer, support small businesses, and keep the city’s restaurant scene more vibrant year‑round.
For now, April 1, 2026, is the official kickoff for the 2026 roadway dining season, but behind the scenes, the push for a permanent, more flexible program is already shaping the next chapter of NYC outdoor dining.
