On November 30, one of the COVID-19 pandemic’s few positive influences on New York City came to an end. Earlier this year, the City Council voted to end the city’s four-year experiment in laissez faire outdoor dining, replacing it with a labyrinth of regulations and fees. Over the past month, thousands of sidewalk dining setups\u2014symbols of entrepreneurial creativity\u00a0that enlivened city streets\u2014have come down.<\/p>\n

Like most great things about the city, the recent outdoor dining renaissance was unplanned. When the pandemic confined New Yorkers indoors, restaurateurs <\/span>survived<\/span><\/a> by taking business outdoors. Under an emergency program<\/a>, the city <\/span>allowed\u00a0eateries to build makeshift structures on sidewalks and in parking spaces, creating lifelines for businesses and socially distanced spaces for diners.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In some cases, outdoor dining consisted of picnic tables under an awning\u2014a typical scene in cities like Paris or Madrid, though novel in New York. More often, on-street parking spaces became an extension of the restaurant. Plywood sheds turned into elaborate structures, replete with air conditioners, heaters, and other amenities to provide year-round comfort. Diners enjoyed meals in everything from <\/span>beaux arts birdcages<\/span><\/a> to <\/span>trolley cars<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was a period of folk architectural <\/span>experimentation<\/span><\/a> unmatched in the city’s history. Some structures were admittedly unsightly, but they were embraced nonetheless for their New York scrappiness.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Initially, regulators planned to end the program by Labor Day in 2020. Residents balked, and the program was kept in place. Observers <\/span>thought<\/span><\/a> the program would probably lead to permanent change.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But never underestimate the city’s zeal to regulate. In 2021, peeved neighbors <\/span>sued<\/span><\/a> to end the program, citing the lack of a proper environmental review and violations of zoning laws that strictly separate commercial and residential uses. A small cadre of NIMBYs (“not in my backyard”), concerned about aesthetics, noise, and the loss of on-street parking, eventually won. By 2022, the state Supreme Court forced the city to end the outdoor dining program.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In response, the City Council adopted a new, permanent program in 2023, <\/span>Dining Out NYC<\/span><\/a>, that would be managed by the city’s Department of Transportation (DOT).<\/p>\n

“New Yorkers came to enjoy outdoor dining during the pandemic and Dining Out NYC has made it a permanent, vibrant part of our streets,” New York City DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez <\/span>said<\/span><\/a> in a statement. The department has touted it as the “<\/span>nation’s largest permanent outdoor dining program<\/span><\/a>.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While aiming to preserve some of the emergency program’s benefits, the <\/span>new regulations<\/span><\/a> are far more restrictive. The program requires outdoor structures to meet specific size and design <\/span>criteria<\/span><\/a>, be lightweight and removable, and operate only seasonally. Restaurants wishing to participate had to <\/span>apply<\/span><\/a> by August of this year. Those that did not meet the deadline were ordered to be dismantled by November 29, under threat of <\/span>fines<\/span><\/a> up to $1,000.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Restaurants face new <\/span>fees<\/span><\/a>, including a four-year licensing cost ranging from $1,050 to $2,100, plus annual charges based on the size of structures\u2014all sure to increase over time. Applicants will be subjected to a public hearing, for which they must pay a fee ranging from $100 to $800. Adding to the cost, the seasonal model\u2014running from April 1 to November 29\u2014requires businesses to <\/span>dismantle<\/span><\/a> and rebuild their sheds each year.<\/span><\/p>\n

The financial impact on restaurants likely goes beyond classic fees. In the best of cases, some businesses will no longer be allowed to operate outdoors for a third of a year. In the worst of cases, they may not be able to operate outdoor dining at all. The new rules could hit small restaurants hardest, where outdoor dining often doubled seating <\/span>capacity<\/span><\/a>. For the city as a whole, that means fewer jobs and diminished revenue. One restaurant group owner <\/span>reported<\/span><\/a> losing 72 employee shifts after removing sheds due to the new regulations.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Of the approximately <\/span>13,000<\/span><\/a> outdoor dining setups that once lined NYC’s streets, fewer than 3,000 restaurants have <\/span>applied<\/span><\/a> for permits for next season. Among them, about 1,400\u00a0are for dining sheds, while the rest are for traditional <\/span>sidewalk cafes<\/span><\/a>. The DOT has yet to announce how many have been approved.<\/span><\/p>\n

New York City’s outdoor dining saga is a cautionary tale for what happens when cities prioritize bureaucratic control over innovation. <\/span>What began as a creative, organic solution to an economic and social problem has been stifled by overregulation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The post The Death and Life of New York Outdoor Dining<\/a> appeared first on Reason.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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