NYC DOT demands roadway dining setups come down, will they go back up?

At least our customers seem to be happy about having more street parking available again.”

Minerva Cano, Bronx Alehouse manager

Outdoor dining setups seemed to be on every city street during the COVID-19 pandemic. But on Friday, Nov. 29, the NYC Department of Transportation ordered those who were part of its Dining Out NYC program to take down their structures, at least during the winter months.

Blackstone Bar & Grill, located on 3713 Riverdale Ave., had removed their roadway dining setup earlier this week. The Press was unable to reach the manager for comment, but an employee said that taking a roadway dining setup down, just to reinstall the structure again four months later, seems impractical.

“It’s an inconvenience because it costs money and time to build a new setup,” the Blackstone Bar & Grill employee said.

 Bronx Alehouse at 216 W. 238th St. also met Friday’s citywide deadline, but not without prior incident. Manager, Minerva Cano told The Press that the city slapped teh restaurant with a fine back in September, more than two months before the city required all roadway dining areas to be uninstalled. The Kingsbridge establishment uninstalled their roadway dining setup following the fine in mid-September.

Bronx Alehouse was unable to provide the fine amount or the specific reason behind the fine to The Press.

“The city was really on us about removing it,” she said.

According to each of the restaurants The Press interviewed, the city either contacted or visited each location in September, either pertaining to materials being used for the setup or as a reminder to dismantle the space.

“When it's springtime again, we probably won’t put it back up,” Cano added. “There isn’t really much of a reason to install [the roadway dining area] again, because a lot of our customers weren’t really using it.”

She added that even though uninstalling the roadway dining setup created an inconvenience, the Bronx Alehouse roadway setup wasn’t being utilized by patrons, “So, not such a huge loss,” Cano added. “At least our customers seem to be happy about having more street parking available again."

Efrain Farciert, owner of the Sante Fe restaurant, on 6025 Broadway, said the city also contacted him and threatened to hit the establishment with a fine.

“The city told us back in September that we needed to remove our current setup and replace it, but it just didn’t seem worth it, given the fact that by the time we replaced it, it would be wintertime anyway,” Farciert said.

Farciert added the city had been on their case regarding the setup, particularly regarding the material that was being used, and the establishment was forced to change the setup’s material, as the wood material was not allowed to be used to build roadway dining setups, according to Farciert.

He also said that he is not sure if Sante Fe will restore their setup for April 1, as it will depend on how many customers they attract when the spring season begins.

“Even with a heater, most of the people who were using these setups [approaching the Nov. 29 deadline] were still freezing,” Farciert added. “A heater doesn’t really do that much when you have many customers out in the cold.”

Earlier this week, NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez said that he “urges all businesses to act now and remove their setups to avoid costly violations.”

Establishments that did not meet the Nov. 29 deadline will be subject to pay fines up to $1,000, with the fine increasing for repeat offenders.

According to Dining Out NYC’s website, the roadway outdoor dining season will start up again on April 1, while sidewalk dining will stay open year round in the Bronx and throughout the five boroughs.

Roadway cafes can only be placed in parking spaces (both metered and non-metered), along with commercial spaces, alternate side parking, angled spaces and seasonal parking, including no standing during posted months as well as loading only, truck loading, hotel loading and no parking spaces, according to the Dining Out NYC website.

A roadway dining setup, according to the city, may not be placed in bike/bus and no standing/stopping anytime lanes, along with bus stops, authorized vehicle parking and dedicated use parking.

Vehicular accidents have occurred numerous times since roadway dining setups were added to the structural makeup of the city. Several involving both commercial vans as well as passenger vehicles have taken place since roadway dining setups were implemented at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2020.

Roadway dining setups have shown that they can be beneficial for restaurants and their customers in the past four years, but in the past few months, according to the aforementioned establishments, they have stood as more of a hindrance, rather than a help.