Social media-loving Mayor Zohran Mamdani officially signed a year-round outdoor dining bill into law Monday – using a TikTok-ready restaurant set up outside of City Hall for the occasion.
Hizzoner rolled out the first legislative bill signing of his administration with two weird events that featured fake restaurant decor including checkered tablecloths, salt-and-pepper shakers and phony table numbers.
“Outdoor dining is more than a table and chairs in the street,” the mayor said. “It’s much more than spaghetti being eaten while being serenaded by our city’s symphony of car horns and New Yorkers speaking to one another, or as a tourist would describe it, shouting at one another.
“It is what allowed so many small businesses to survive a time of desolation, and another opportunity for our city’s entrepreneurs to show off their unparalleled creativity,” he added.
The social media socialist held a public testimony in City Hall’s blue room, then hosted a ceremonial signing for members of the press outside two hours later — complete with a restaurant-esque chalkboard sign reading “today’s specials: year round outdoor dining.”
The package of new laws allows restaurants and cafes with outdoor dining permits to keep their sidewalk sheds up year-round – reversing a three-year old rule that forced them to take down the costly sidewalk sheds and store them between Nov. 30 and March 31.
The package of bills will also require establishments to shut down at 11 p.m. in the winter season – and keep their structures clear of trash, graffiti and vermin. Previous outdoor dining rules allowed them to stay open until 1 a.m.
“Outdoor dining has really, truly reimagined the streetscape in New York City,” said Council Member Lincoln Restler (D-33), who sponsored the primary bill in the package.
“By restoring year-round outdoor dining, we are expecting thousands of restaurants to participate in this program once again. That is great for the New York City economy,” Restler said.
The Department of Transportation – which oversees outdoor dining – will open an online portal in early September for both new and repeat applicants of the dining out program, according to the city.
Once up and running, existing street-side operators will be able to register for a $630 transition permit allowing them to stay open after Nov. 30.
New applicants will have the option to choose a year-round or seasonal permit.
The City Council had added the seasonal restrictions to outdoor dining during former Mayor Eric Adams’ administration — a move that drove down participation from between 6,000-8,000 restaurants at its peak to about 2,700 today.
In the years since the restriction, eateries have complained about the burdensome regulations and a convoluted permit application process. Last year, more than 3,600 applications were in limbo due to the approval process.
