Outdoor Dining In Roadway Suspended Under NYC Storm ‘Snow Alert’

NEW YORK CITY — Eat fast, New York City —outdoor dining setups in the city’s streets soon will be shut down as a major winter storm approaches.

A Department of Sanitation “snow alert” warned the city’s restaurants that roadway dining will be suspended starting Wednesday at 2 p.m.

A winter storm is expected to hit the city starting Wednesday afternoon and dump as much as 17 inches of snow.

“The City will notify restaurants when they could reopen roadway seating for outdoor dining,” the alert states. “Based on the current forecast, the City estimates that this Snow Alert will be over on Thursday evening, allowing restaurants to reopen, but this may change to the morning of Friday, December 18 based on actual accumulations and roadway conditions.”

The same alert also suspended alternate side parking for Wednesday and Thursday.

City officials aren’t “at this time” asking restaurants to remove any barriers or structures in the roadway. Instead, the alert instructs restaurants to not seat diners in roadway setups, remove or secure tables and chairs in the roadway, remove all electrical heaters and, if possible, remove any overhead coverings.