NYC Streets Will Open For Outdoor Dining

NEW YORK CITY — Entire blocks will be transformed into outdoor dining rooms under an upcoming expansion of the city's reopening rules for restaurants and bars.

Applications will open Monday for business improvement districts and merchant associations to set up seating on roadways that have been closed to traffic under the city's open streets program.

The initial rollout of the new outdoor dining setup is expected to start on Fourth of July weekend, according to NYC Department of Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg.

Individual businesses must go through local BIDs or community-based organizations to apply — a setup that Trottenberg said is meant to help city officials coordinate seating on blocks that have many restaurants and bars.

“My editorial view is it’s going to be very popular,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

More than 5,600 restaurants citywide have already taken advantage of the city's outdoor dining program, part of the second phase of reopening.

The mayor's "Open Restaurant Program" enables restaurants to use sidewalks, parking spots and other spaces to serve customers, without having to go through the usual months-long process to get a sidewalk cafe permit.

Restaurants will soon be able to offer indoor dining, at 50-percent capacity, as New York City prepares to enter the next phase of reopening on July 6.

Phase 3 clears the way for personal care businesses like nail salons, spas and tattoo parlors to reopen, sending an estimated 50,000 New Yorkers back to work.