Open Streets for Outdoor Dining Will Aid Restaurant Industry Recovery

Statement of Transportation Alternatives’ Executive Director Danny Harris on the city’s plan to expand outdoor restaurant seating:

“Our streets are a resource that must be reallocated to guide New York City’s recovery. Transportation Alternatives has called for the expansion of the Open Streets program—the closing of streets to cars and opening them to people—to allow for safe physical distancing, to provide much-needed open space where it’s lacking, and for other uses such as walking, biking, recreation, retail and dining.

We are heartened that the Department of Transportation and Department of Small Business Services plan to launch an “Open Restaurants” pilot program which seeks to, among other things, convert parking spaces into restaurant seating. This program has the potential to aid small businesses citywide and begin the road to recovery for tens of thousands of restaurant industry employees.

As this program advances, we call on Mayor de Blasio to prioritize the public right-of-way and keep the program’s enforcement and oversight out of the hands of the NYPD. Any additional space for dining must be taken from driving lanes or parking spaces, and never at the expense of bus lanes, bike lanes, or pedestrian space. If new outdoor dining spaces are located on sidewalks, an equivalent measure of road space should be turned into space for walking. The City must not eliminate public space in implementing Open Streets; to do so would defeat the purpose of this program.

In addition, we urge Mayor de Blasio to lift caps on street vendor licenses, so those smallest of businesses, which are predominantly run by immigrants and people of color, can wholly participate in Open Restaurants. 

The reimagining of our streets will be key to New York’s recovery, and outdoor dining is a great place to start. We look forward to seeing this pilot program implemented equitably across the city in support of New York’s recovery.”