Mayor Bill de Blasio. Image credit: CityLand
The program will allow for outdoor dining until October 31st. As part of the City’s efforts to reopen and protect New Yorkers during the COVID-19 pandemic, earlier this month the City announced an expansion of outdoor dining options in connection with the Open Streets program.
The Open Streets program limited vehicular traffic on specified streets to provide more open space for pedestrians and cyclists during the pandemic. As the City continued to reopen, restaurants were looking for new means to improve business until indoor dining can be reimplemented. As a result, the City created the Open Restaurants plan, which allowed restaurants to generally expand their outdoor seating onto sidewalks, curb lanes, plazas and other outdoor spaces Thousands of restaurants applied for the program and the City sought to provide more open space by using designated Open Streets to expand outdoor dining.
On July 2, 2020, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the first 22 locations for the expansion of outdoor dining options throughout the five boroughs. Since July 3, the Open Streets and Open Restaurants initiative has allowed more than 9,000 restaurants to expand their outdoor dining areas onto car-free streets every Friday from 5 p.m. – 11 p.m., and every Saturday and Sunday from noon – 11 p.m.
The program was initially supposed to run until Labor Day, but on July 17, the City extended the program until October 31 and added 26 new streets, bringing the total to 47 streets in the program.
The following streets are participating in the Open Streets program:
Bronx
| Organization | Street | From | To |
| Belmont BID | Arthur Ave | E 188th St | Crescent Ave |
| Salsa Con Fuego | Cedar Ave | W Fordham Rd | Landing Rod |
Brooklyn
| Organization | Street | From | To |
| DUMBO | Dock St | Front St | Water St |
| DUMBO | Main St | Plymouth St | Water St |
| DUMBO | Washington St | Water St | Front St |
| DUMBO | Anchorage Place | Water St | Front St |
| Park Slope 5th Ave BID | 5th Ave | Dean St | Park Pl |
| Red Hook Business Alliance | Reed St | Conover St | Van Brunt St |
| Concord Hill | Graham Ave | Skillman Ave | Conselyea St |
| Sunset Park BID | 5th Ave | 40th St | 41st St |
| Park Slope 5th Ave BID | 5th Ave | President St | 3rd St |
| Park Slope 5th Ave BID | 5th Ave | 10th St | 13th St |
Manhattan
| Organization | Street | From | To |
| Chinatown BID | Doyers St | Bowery | Pell St |
| Uptown Grand Central | E 101st St | Lexington Ave | Park Ave |
| Meatpacking BID | Gansevoort St | Washington St | W 13th St |
| Meatpacking BID | 9th Ave | 14th St | 15th St |
| Meatpacking BID | 13th St | Hudson St | Washington St |
| Meatpacking BID | Little W 12th St | 9th Ave | Washington St |
| Flatiron Partnership | Broadway | 25th St | 28th St |
| LES Partnership | Orchard St | Delancey St | Grand St |
| LES Partnership | Broome St | Ludlow St | Allen St |
| Times Square Alliance | W 46th St | 8th Ave | 9th Ave |
| Little Italy Merchants Association | Mulberry St | Hester St | Broome St |
| Little Italy Merchants Association | Hester St | Mulberry St | Mott St |
| Blind Tiger | Jones ST | Bleeker St | W 4th |
| Von Design Ltd | Bleeker St | Mott St | Bowery |
| MacDougal Merchants Association | MacDougal St | W 8th St | W 3rd St |
| Sushi Vida | Dyckman St | Broadway | Seaman Ave |
| St Tropez Soho, LLC | Spring St | 6th Ave | Thompson St |
| Village Alliance | W 8th | 5th Ave | 6th Ave |
| Hangwai Restaurant | E 32nd St | 5th Ave | Madison Ave |
| Alliance for Downtown NY | Pearl St | Broad St | Hanover Sq |
| Alliance for Downtown NY | Pine St | William St | Pearl St |
| Rezorda | E 20th St | Park Ave | Broadway |
| Rivington East Merchants Association | Rivington St | Essex St | Norfolk St |
| Osteria Morini | Lafayette St | Spring St | Kenamare St |
| Derossi Global | E 7th St | Ave A | 1st Ave |
| Village Alliance | St Marks Place | 3rd Ave | 2nd Ave |
| The Hairy Lemon | Ave B | E 2nd St | E 3rd St |
| Flatiron 23rd St Partnership | W 22nd St | 5th Ave | 6th Ave |
| Cervo’s | Canal St | Orchard St | Essex St |
| Kettle of Fish | Christopher St | Waverly Pl | 7 Ave South |
Queens
| Organization | Street | From | To |
| Bayside Village BID | Bell Blvd | 39th Ave | 41st Ave |
| Bayside Village BID | 41st Ave | Bell Blvd | 214th Pl |
Staten Island
| Organization | Street | From | To |
| New Dorp BID | New Dorp Ln | S. Railroad Ave | Hylan Blvd |
| Forest Hills Chamber of Commerce | 70th Rd | Austin St | Queens Blvd |
| Forest Hills Chamber of Commerce | Austin St | 72nd Ave | 72nd Rd |
| Thai Community USA | Woodside Ave | 76th St | 78th St |
Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), Merchants Associations, and “Restaurant Groups” containing at least three food service establishments can apply for the Open Streets initiative here.
Council Member Steven Matteo described this initiative as a “win-win-win” scenario, since it supports local businesses, allows for social distancing, and gives New Yorkers a “safe outdoor place to enjoy a meal with their families on weekend nights.”
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams described this initiative as “a much-needed lifeline for restaurants struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” but also commented that he hopes to see this program expand “to areas in Brooklyn that have not historically been prioritized for safe streets and economic development initiatives, like East New York and Canarsie.”
Read the full press release here.
By: Victoria Agosta (Victoria is the CityLaw intern and a New York Law School student, Class of 2022.)