It’s a pivotal time for the city’s restaurants — and the cobbled dining areas created during the pandemic.
It was 8:15 p.m. on a steamy Saturday night on the Lower East Side, and every table on Canal Street outside Clandestino was occupied and noisy.
The boards on the side street at Le Dive were also full, and at Cervo’s, down the street and at Dimes, up the block. Laughter, chatter, and the sound of dishes clinking in the air.
But just around the corner from Ludlow Street, the tenants in the upstairs windows were neighborhood scene and post them on Twitter, where they described streets as “trash cans” and patrons as “don’t care about the neighborhood” – and blamed one mayor, one resident wrote, “prioritizing nightlife over community.”
More than two years after pandemic necessities ushered in a new era of outdoor dining in New York City, what seemed like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to change the streetscape has reached its prime. important point.
What was once temporary is now permanent: restaurant seating both on the sidewalk and on the roadside. In mid-August, Mayor Eric Adams announced that while Abandoned food warehouse will be demolishedOutdoor dining is “here to stay.”
But as summer descends, the city faces decisions about what dining outside will look like in the future – a debate that raises bigger questions about how New York should use the space. its precious public and whose needs it will serve.
Some New Yorkers are suing the city, alleging the program affected their safety and ruined their quality of life, pitting neighborhood residents against the small businesses that helped. make those neighborhoods special and make New York a magnet for visitors.
While the City Department of Transport. to issue interim guidance for restaurants in 2020The Adams administration has yet to set specific standards that businesses must follow for their outdoor dining activities going forward. According to the mayor, planning for a new, long-term program – which includes crafting regulations that could help alleviate some of the problems facing neighboring countries – is being slowed by litigation.
New guidelines may include design, pest control and public health. While the pandemic emergency allows restaurants to use sidewalks and roadways, changes are expected next year: Like applying for a sidewalk cafe license, restaurants Restaurants will have to apply and pay a fee to seat outside guests on public premises.
Additionally, a new task force will address quality-of-life issues in what the city calls Open a restaurant.
Many of the food courts that have been put together by restaurants over the past few years are now dilapidated and affected by the weather. Some are covered with graffiti or have exposed wires hanging from their heads.
And while other dining shacks have been converted and upgraded to be impressive, permanent structures that recreate indoor spaces year-round, with speakers and heaters, they often block the sidewalk entrance. pedestrian crossings, taxis and ambulances.
Some residents argue that the city should just stop this type of outdoor dining.
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit say they are being adversely affected by the Open Restaurant program. The lawsuit argues that the emergency conditions created by the coronavirus have waned, but food and beverage sheds remain, leading to noise, sanitation problems and an increase in rat populations.
“I understand the need for something like that at the height of the pandemic,” said Tanya Bonner, a plaintiff living in Washington Heights. “But that’s not where we’re at right now.”
Ms. Bonner said alfresco dining has contributed to the unbearable noise in nearby Washington Heights and Inwood. “I think you can come up here and do anything – free for all.”
Bonner, currently a professor of communications at the University of St. John’s, is also the co-founder and chairman of the WaHi-Inwood Task Force on Noise. She grew up in Chicago and has lived in New York for 17 years, “So I don’t have to worry about living in a city,” she said.
“But what I expect, and the way I grew up, even in a big city, is to respect your neighbors – and your community. Because a healthy community is a thriving community”.
Robert Camacho, 61, president of Council 4 of the Brooklyn Community, is a disabled and self-proclaimed “noisy Puerto Rican”, who came to Brooklyn at the age of 3 months and has lived in Bushwick since 1974.
He says that because there are so many restaurants lining the roadside, he can’t find parking near his home – or near the grocery store. “Give us back the streets,” he pleads, bemoaning the problems the program has created for “seniors who cannot walk.”
Additionally, Mr. Camacho is concerned that when it comes to outdoor dining, “There is no enforcement mechanism. There is no quality of life mechanism. There is no one to monitor and make sure that everything is going right and correct.”
Meera Joshi, the city’s deputy mayor for operations, recently announced the creation of a task force to address Open Restaurant-related quality of life issues. This effort will be a partnership between the Department of Transportation, the Department of Sanitation and the Department of Parks, with support from the Police Department.
As of September 2, the task force had removed 55 warehouses that were abandoned or violated the guidelines.
During the darkest months of the pandemic, al fresco dining was a lifeline that kept many restaurants from closing. But now it means increasing capacity – and boosting business.
Jeff Kadish, founding partner of Bottom Line Hospitality and operating partner of Bodega 88, a Latin-themed sports bar and restaurant on the Upper West Side, said when the pandemic hit, it was possible to open Wide saved the restaurant.
The bar added sidewalk seating and created a dining area on Columbus Avenue. “It’s Covid, Wild West, you’re allowed to use the roadway, go for it,” he said.
Mr. Kadish says that Bodega 88’s outdoor seating benefits both diners and staff, and he points out that the restaurant is employing more people as capacity increases.
But upstairs from Bodega 88, Michael Kenna and all the neighbors in his co-op building spent up to $20,000 on noise-reducing windows.
Kenna, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, said the bar has actually tripled its capacity and is known for drawing crowds on the sidewalks and on the streets of Columbus Avenue. When it comes to road noise or conversations – “you get used to that stuff,” he says. But the bar’s outdoor speakers? “Listening to thumpa, thumpa, thumpa until midnight every night – and my bedroom is right there – is infuriating,” he said.
Andrew Rigie, executive director of the New York City Hotel Alliance, says that even supporters of the Open Restaurant program are aware that there are issues that need to be addressed.
Mr. Rigie is working with the task force assembled by City Hall, and noted that there are a number of legislative and zoning changes that need to take place before the permanent version of Open Restaurant goes into effect.
As a result, eating out in New York in 2023 may not be the same as it is now, Mr. Rigie said. He said the hotel union wants the city to approve multiple versions of the outdoor restaurant setup that all have a more standard appearance, with specific requirements for building materials. “We’re talking about outdoor dining, not recreating indoor dining outside.”
Additionally, New York could see fewer restaurants opting for curbside dining in the future, once the formal application process – along with the fee – is in place.
Meanwhile, people will continue to enjoy the opportunity to sit outside for dinner and entertainment, where New York is the place to be.
In Bushwick at the intersection of Wyckoff Avenue and Troutman Street on a recent Saturday night, crowds of people had gathered, some waiting for gorditas from a brightly lit taco truck, some sitting at tables above on the street, some gathered in a line waiting to be picked up at the Lot 45 site.
This was Davin Hazard’s first visit to Bushwick and she was sitting at the nearby Sea Wolf restaurant with a friend, and Arthur, a French mastiff they were feeding.
“The opportunity to get some fresh air, to have people watch on the sidewalk, is incredible,” said Ms Hazard, 29, as she looked into the bustling, bustling scene. “And I think it’s like a very authentic New York experience.”
She sympathized with Bushwick residents like Mr. Camacho she said, but she took the initiative to find a restaurant where she could bring a dog and dine outside. “This could be a compromise, right?”
Back on the Lower East Side, Bonnie Turtur, 37, is sitting alone at a table outside Dimes. Her husband had just left the restaurant with their child: “Our child is having a tantrum,” she said.
When informed that people with apartments overlooking the restaurant were suing the city over noise, garbage and rats, Ms. Turtur paused for a moment. “I see. If I lived upstairs, I would probably… I can complain.” Does the property where Ms. Turtur currently resides in SoHo have a food storage facility?
“No,” she said, “that would be great.”
