New York— Assemblymember Tony Simone today unveiled a bill to allow year round outdoor dining.

World class cities proactively engage the public space. From sipping a cappuccino along the Champs-Elysées in Paris to enjoying an evening of al fresco tapas in Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter, activating the streetscape is quintessential. It fosters community, is good for small businesses, improves public safety, increases tax revenue, and makes our streets more than a way to get around, it makes them a place to be.

Here in New York, over the pandemic, we saw a renaissance in outdoor dining. However with COVID in the rear view mirror, it feels like outdoor dining may be left in that era. It is time for the state to step up to ensure that cities do not create undue burdens on business owners, requiring them to dismantle their outdoor dining establishments in the winter even when there is demand for them. These, and other draconian regulations have all but killed the program.

In Chelsea, the historic Empire Diner has had outdoor dining even before the onset of the pandemic. When the pandemic hit and new options such as roadway dining were legalized they took the opportunity to continue to serve the community. In 2021 they opened the Pavilion to accompany their existing sidewalk cafe. This was no COVID-Era shack, but a beautiful structure that activated the streetscape. It served the community throughout the pandemic. Keeping staff employed, makinga home away from home for residents, and tax dollars flowing for the city.

The new city laws surrounding outdoor dining have decimated the setup at Empire Diner and have all but killed the program for operators.

This story is all too familiar across the City. Restaurants took a chance on New York and invested in their neighborhood just for the City to turn around and begin to regulate outdoor dining out of existence.

"Outdoor dining has created tens of thousands of jobs, earning working class New Yorkers hundreds of millions of dollars, and generated nearly $10 million in wage tax revenue. New Yorkers loved the program but recent regulations such as creating an outdoor dining season have nearly killed it. My bill will legalize outdoor dining year round across the state while giving municipalities the flexibility to establish reasonable regulation so that outdoor dining setups are safe, healthy, and make sense in a neighborhood." Assemblymember Tony Simone

“During the pandemic, the growth of outdoor dining was an economic lifeline for our restaurant’s employees, vendors, and so much more. It was a brilliant experiment like a phoenix rising from the ashes! This was New York at its best, pulling together as communities and neighborhoods embraced the creativity and vibrancy these outdoor dining structures brought to our streets. It was a huge success and completely unbureaucratic. Instead of the city taking a thoughtful approach to bring about regulations while preserving the vibrancy and spirit of these outdoor dining structures they have delivered an untenantable plan. They even have sidewalk seating by a further two feet, making it more restrictive than it was pre-covid.This is another huge cost to our outdoor dining, losing even more seating and having to repurchase new umbrellas, awnings, and dividers.” Stacy Pisone, COO/Principle, Cafeteria Group, Empire Diner

"Outdoor dining was great for our neighborhoods — and it's time to bring it back year round. Thank you to Assemblymember Simone for your leadership in introducing this important legislation to restore outdoor dining as a boon to small businesses, job creation, safer neighborhoods, and dynamic streets!" Councilmember Lincoln Restler

“Outdoor dining in New York City supports restaurants, creates jobs, and enhances neighborhood vibrancy. However, making roadway cafés seasonal under the new program has discouraged too many small businesses due to the high costs and challenges of repeatedly setting up and storing structures. Restoring a year-round roadway café program will provide stability, encourage investment, and keep our streets vibrant. Thank you to Assemblymember Tony Simone for taking action to bring back year-round roadway cafes, supporting local restaurants and the communities they serve.” Andrew Rigie, Executive Director, NYC Hospitality Alliance

“Outdoor dining has provided an economic lifeline for New York’s restaurants and a welcome oasis for state residents looking for relief from being cooped up indoors. But those opportunities have been disrupted by inconsistent local laws across the state. Assemblymember Simone’s bill provides clear guidance to facilitate year-round outdoor dining statewide while ensuring local governments have the tools they need to protect public safety. This bill grows economic opportunity for small businesses and their employees, provides a hospitable environment for our neighbors and visitors, and creates consistency and predictability for businesses and patrons alike. We thank Assemblymember Simone for leading the charge and urge his colleagues to support this legislation.” Scott Wexler, Executive Director, Empire State Restaurant & Tavern Association

"New Yorkers across the city are in danger of losing the vibrancy and community that curbside dining created. Luckily, we can fix it. Business owners say that the seasonal restriction is a major hurdle. By restoring their option to use curbs year-round, we can help businesses get more out of the program and alleviate concerns about the time, space, and money commitments of dismantling and storing equipment. We’re glad to see AM Simone recognize this crucial moment for our streetscape and step up to support owners and diners with this practical change," said Sara Lind, Co-Executive Director at Open Plans.

“We are grateful to those who support restaurants and fight to ensure that we can continue to utilize our outdoor dining spaces year-round. This bill would provide significant cost savings for restaurants, eliminating the need for expensive third-party services to set up, take down, and store outdoor seating. Additionally, we applaud the bill sponsor for listening to patrons who value outdoor dining year-round and recognize that limiting its availability based on seasonality is unnecessary. This idea is a win for both the restaurant industry and the people who love dining outdoors, and we encourage more initiatives like this that help, and not hurt, our industry,” said Melissa Fleischut, President and CEO of the New York State Restaurant Association.

"The NYS Latino Restaurant Bar & Lounge Association thanks Assemblymember Simone for introducing legislation that is exactly the type our members want to see across New York, legislation that allows the diverse restaurants from across the state to be creative, removes red tape, and allows restaurants to thrive. The current outdoor dining rules in NYC have fallen short on design options, adding delays, and increasing costs in a city that is becoming more unaffordable for businesses and our communities. Assemblymember Simone's bill will help the thousands of restaurants across the state earn more, increase hiring, and serve their communities.” - Sandra Jaquez, President, NYS Latino Restaurant Bar & Lounge Association