New York City needs a permanent, year-round outdoor dining program
New York City has three million free parking spots. By repurposing just eight thousand of them — less than half a percent — the City grew small businesses, saved 100,000 jobs at the beginning of the pandemic, gave New Yorkers more options to eat and socialize, and corrected the inequities of the old sidewalk cafe program.
On Open Streets with outdoor dining:
There are now more businesses than before the pandemic. Citywide, there are fewer.
Business revenue grew 19% since the program began. Meanwhile, on adjacent streets, revenue dropped 29%.
A recent report from NYU found that 41% of the outdoor dining restaurants were in community board districts where the majority of residents were people of color. This is about double the share of the pre-pandemic program.
A seasonal outdoor dining program is prohibitive to small restaurants, who may not have the resources to build new structures each year or store materials during the off-months. Small businesses are the fabric of our city, and we should be supporting them, not punishing them.
We need a permanent, year-round outdoor dining program. Tell Mayor Adams and your City Council member to support a permanent program that puts people over parking.
