Quote from Sara Lind, Co-Executive Director of Open Plans, on the first day of Dining Out NYC

"New York City’s curbside dining season kicks off today with a staggering decline in the number, and diversity, of participating businesses. Many New Yorkers looking forward to the return of their favorite curbside seat will likely be disappointed. City Council has unfortunately stifled this popular, lucrative pandemic-era program with car-centric thinking and bureaucracy. While it’s exciting that outdoor dining is back, our enthusiasm is dampened by the current state of affairs.

"There are a number of solutions for this promising but flawed program, and allowing it to operate year-round is at the top of that list. We’ve spoken to many businesses, in many boroughs, who aren’t able to meet the requirements of dismantling and storing equipment for the off-season. Hidden fees and hurdles, burdensome insurance requirements, and local overreach have also strained owners.

"We must learn from this rocky start and create a more efficient program that supports, rather than burdens, our vital local businesses. Making the program year-round and removing excessive fees and insurance requirements will allow businesses to get back to doing what they do best: bringing their creativity, culture, and cuisine to New Yorkers across the city."

Background

Dining Out NYC, the permanent outdoor dining program, begins its first season April 1, 2025. The new program, which operates between April and November, has drawn criticism from advocates and business owners for being mismanaged and too restrictive.

Less than a week before the program’s start, fewer than 2% of applicants (just 47 out of 4,000) had received their licenses; only 21 of those are for roadway dining. An additional 547 businesses have received condition approvals for roadway dining, bringing the total of curbside streeties still far below the 6,000-8,000 once operating at the height of the temporary program. Dining Out NYC participants are also far less widely distributed than in previous years—Manhattan and Brooklyn account for 59% and 34% of the licensees, respectively.

Open Plans has conducted dozens of interviews with local businesses to explore their experiences with the program and are advocating for a set of reforms to the program at the city legislative and agency levels. Read more in Digging In to Dining Out: Ways to Fix New York City’s Outdoor Dining.