NYC launches Dining Out NYC, extending pandemic-era outdoor dining program indefinitely

When history looks back on the pandemic, focus will probably be placed on the tragedy of human loss, and all of the negative impacts on society like stay-at-home orders and the economic downturn that resulted from it. But not all of it was bad.

By extending a pandemic-era initiative intended to save jobs indefinitely, New York City now has the nation’s largest permanent outdoor dining program.

“Outdoor dining has been transformative for the public realm in New York City, allowing residents and visitors to enjoy curb and sidewalk spaces in new ways,” said Chief Public Realm Officer Ya-Ting Liu in a statement about the initiative. “It completely reframed our thinking on how we can manage public spaces in ways that enhance the pedestrian experience, support local businesses, and improve overall vibrancy of our streets. Outdoor dining is here to stay.”

The new program, Dining Out NYC, has been in the works for more than a year, with extensive input from the local restaurant industry and committees throughout the city. Mayor Eric Adams signed the measure into law on Wednesday. 

“The temporary [outdoor] restaurants program saved 100,000 jobs and kept our neighborhoods vibrant—but too many abandoned sheds attracted rats and detracted from the beauty of our city,” Adams said in a statement. “Dining Out NYC locks in the best parts of outdoor dining and gets rid of the worst—for restaurants, for communities, and for diners alike.”

Looking ahead, the city’s Department of Transportation will work with stakeholders to come up with rules and design requirements—about things like sanitation and accessibility—that will be reviewed by the public in the fall. Under the new program, a statement says, dining setups will be open-air, and easy to break down and move. The city will no longer allow fully enclosed structures. Restaurants that currently have an outdoor setup can keep them operating under the temporary program through the rest of 2023. The new program will take effect once they’re finalized around spring of next year, and restaurants will be able to apply via an online portal.

“Outdoor dining saved thousands of jobs and small businesses during the pandemic and fundamentally changed how New Yorkers view their city streets,” said Kevin Kim, commissioner of the New York City Department of Small Business Services in the statement. “Dining Out NYC builds on past success while also instituting commonsense changes to ensure outdoor dining works for everyone. By enshrining this program into law, we are helping more than 23,000 restaurants in our city thrive while making our neighborhoods more vibrant, livable, and prosperous.”