NYC outdoor dining set to start today for 2025 season. How to find a table near you
Outdoor dining is set to start today in New York City, so find a table and some fresh air.
The sheds and other structures that popped up all over the city
during the COVID pandemic
had to be
taken down last year
. But now, they've become seasonal.
In order to find out which restaurants that have been approved for outdoor dining this season, it's, well, complicated.
The city's Department of Transportation, which oversees the program, says a total of
2,600 restaurants have some type of approval
for this season.
The DOT maintains three separate lists
on its website
. The first is an
interactive map
where you can search for a restaurant's name or location to see if a license has been issued.
If you search by each borough, Manhattan and Brooklyn each have 18 restaurants, Queens has seven, the Bronx has four and Staten Island doesn't have any.
The second is a list of all the restaurants that
applied for sidewalk dining by the August 3 deadline
last year. Due
to a backlog
, the DOT recently announced restaurants that had cleared certain steps would receive conditional approval to operate while their applications are processed.
Lastly, there is a list of restaurants that received
conditional approval for roadway cafes
, as of March 25.
The city has
several requirements for outdoor dining
related to cleanliness, smoking, noise and hours.
Sidewalk and roadway cafes will be allowed to operate seven days a week from April 1 to Nov. 29. Outdoor dining hours are from 10 a.m. to midnight on Sunday and 8 a.m. to midnight every other day of the week.
Areas must be kept "clean, well-maintained, and clear of trash, debris, graffiti, vermin, food scraps, and unsanitary conditions," the DOT website says.
Restaurants that fail to comply will be given 30 days to correct the violation before facing a $200 fine. Second and subsequent offenses face a $500 fine, and repeat offenders risk having their licenses suspended or revoked.
For more information about the requirements and other resources,
CLICK HERE
.
When Le Dive opened in 2022, it served cozy meals outside, akin to a winter cabin -- but on the Lower East Side.
"We had 18 seats on the sidewalk here and roadway over here," owner Jon Neidich explained.
Under the city's new Dining Out program, the restaurant is losing 25 percent of its seating and can only put tables in the confines of designated staging areas.
"We are no longer allowed to have an awning, because we have a stop sign here. So we become really weather dependent," said Neidich.
The onerous regulations prompted restaurants like the Empire Diner in Chelsea, which once had an iconic street structure, to not even apply.
Meanwhile, the Consulate on the Upper West Side said the DOT made it remove a $20,000 vestibule but allowed it to keep some tables.
"As a French American modern restaurant, I think it gives that flair," manager Tonci Antunovic said.
Some say the process is inequitable -- for example, the Bronx had only 30 restaurants with outdoor dining before the pandemic, and then there were more than 600. Now, the number is back down, only eight roadway cafes are set to open in the borough.
On Monday, the New York State Latino Restaurant Bar and Lounge Association stood by Assemblyman Tony Simone, who just introduced legislation that would make sure the program runs year round.
"The cost is just not feasible for them -- these structures, having to remove them in November," said Sandra Jaquez, president of the NYS Latino Restaurant Bar & Lounge Association. "Our restaurants really need the space for their yearly parties Christmas parties."
Further complicating matters, restaurants that want to serve liquor to outdoor dining guests could only apply for a state license to do so, once the city approved their design plans.
"It's super important to be able to serve alcohol in the seats," Neidich said, adding, "When we have all the outdoor, we're able to employ another 15 to 20 people."
The state Liquor Authority says it reviews most applications within seven to 10 days of receipt.
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