New rules on restaurant shacks spark debate among restaurateurs

Outdoor dining has become a staple across the city since the pandemic. Now, as the city streamlines the permitting and construction process for restaurant shelters, some restaurant owners are skeptical about how well the new program will work and what it will do to their bottom line.

Restaurant owners who want to participate in the city’s outdoor dining program have until Saturday, August 3 to apply to renew their license or close their existing establishments.

“Outdoor dining enriches our communities, and we’re excited to see it become a permanent fixture on the streets of New York City. Our new outdoor dining program is the largest and best in America, and I encourage all interested restaurants to apply,” Ydanis Rodriguez, commissioner of the city’s Department of Transportation, the agency responsible for enforcing Dining Out NYC regulations, said in a press release in July.

To reapply, restaurants must pay a $1,050 fee for road or sidewalk installation and $2,100 for both. Those fees cover the four-year license, but restaurants must also comply with new regulations that could require some businesses to completely reconfigure their businesses, which would incur significant additional costs. Failure to comply will result in a $500 fine for a first offense and $1,000 for subsequent violations.

Recent regulations have left restaurateurs facing difficult decisions regarding license renewals.

Edwin “Brods” Hughes, owner of Wadadli Jerk restaurant in Bedford Stuyvesant, said the license renewal process is too expensive.

“…asking small businesses to put up that much money up front is, I think, a little bit demeaning,” Hughes said.

Hughes’ frustration is compounded by the fact that while pavement dining will be allowed all year round, road dining will be restricted to an eight-month period from April to November.

Brandon Aching, general manager of Greenberg’s Bagel’s in Bed-Stuy, admitted he’s had some challenges due to seasonal restrictions.

“I don’t know how the city expects us to build it and then just tear it down. Most people don’t have storage space or a place to keep it all,” he said.

Susan Povich, owner of the Red Hook Lobster Pound, said she doesn’t like certain aspects of the modular design, because it has an opening at the top that rain can get in. Businesses shouldn’t cover that opening with plexiglass or battens, which makes it difficult to offer any kind of outdoor dining when it’s raining, she said.

Povich also expressed concerns about how the city will enforce the ordinances. “DOT is not an enforcement agency. I’m concerned there won’t be enough people who know the regulations to regulate everything.”

What’s more, Povich has already spent a whopping $60,000 on the current shed structure and anticipates spending at least another $70,000 to build a new shed.

Still, Povich praised the city for “trying to organize and streamline” the cafeteria application process.

Meanwhile, Chelsea News reports that the Department for Transport has said that around 3,000 applications have been received as of Saturday, indicating that outdoor dining is likely to disappear in the near future.