Quick History

Prior to 1929, outdoor seating for restaurants wasn’t technically legal although it still existed and dates back to the mid 19th century

Louis Sherry claimed to have set up the first sidewalk café in this country, outside his Fifth Avenue restaurant in 1900. He wasn’t actually the first. In 1891 women out shopping in Manhattan liked to “eat al fresco under the vineclad, bush-shaded bower” in front of the Vienna Café.

Before the pandemic, only a limited number of areas allowed for any type of outdoor seating and approval process often took over 400 days

When the pandemic hit, a temporary outdoor dining measure was passed and implemented around June of 2020 to allow restaurants to increase their capacity to stay afloat

Over 14,000 restaurants applied for the temporary program

It was a bit of madness with all but new restaurants being build on sidewalks and in the streets near the actual restaurants

There were community hearings and advocacy groups gunning for the removal of all roadway cafes

In summer of 2023, Eric Adams signs the Outdoor Dining Bill, making the sidewalk and roadway cafe expansion permanent, leading to the rollout in March of 2023. Will be the nation’s largest outdoor dining program!

You’ll Have to Check It Out – Peculiar Pub

Check out Peculiar Pub here.

New Rules

New rules, called Dining Out NYC, go into effect March 1, 2024. Restaurants under the current temporary program have until August 3, 2024 to submit an application and continue with their current setup until 30 days after approval

Sidewalk Cafes

Intended to look and feel like a traditional sidewalk cafe

Can have basic overhangs but cannot be fully enclosed

Must have a perimeter fence/barrier to demarcate the seating area from the sidewalk (no more walking through tables… in theory haha)

Year-round sidewalk cafes

Reduced fees compared to previous Sidewalk Cafe program

Roadway Cafes

Accessible, lighter, open-air cafes that extend the restaurant’s look and feel out to the street

Can no longer be fully enclosed, for example they can have a “vertical divider” but only on the street side and it must maintain clear visibility

They can have basic overhangs like a pergola or umbrella and can include lighting

Seating must be easily movable

Cafes will be easy to move, clean, set up, and break down

Allowed April 1 to November 29 (eight-month season)