New push could bring year-round outdoor dining to NYC
Menin has been pushing legislation that would allow outdoor dining sheds to stay up year-round, allow some of them to be larger, and simplify the application process for restaurant owners.
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New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin said Monday she wants to overhaul the city’s outdoor dining program, including allowing structures to remain in place year-round.
“We are going to fix the outdoor dining program and make it year-round,” Menin said.
Under current rules, outdoor dining sheds can only operate between April 1 and Nov. 29, and restaurants must also comply with strict requirements restricting where structures can be placed, how large they can be, and what materials they can be made of.
Former Mayor Eric Adams made outdoor dining permanent but imposed tighter regulations, forcing some businesses to remove their outdoor structures altogether.
“Getting rid of it was the worst thing that ever happened to us,” said one bar worker.
Menin has been pushing legislation that would allow outdoor dining sheds to stay up year-round, allow some of them to be larger, and simplify the application process for restaurant owners. A similar bill failed to pass last year.
When asked, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he supports outdoor dining year-round.
