NYC Blocks Off 21 More Locations for Expanded Outdoor Dining

Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced another 16 streets and five pedestrian plazas today to be blocked off on weekends to allow more space for the city’s ever-expanding outdoor dining program.

In the latest batch of streets to be added to the program, Bayard Street from Mott Street to Mulberry Street in Chinatown will be closed off to car traffic so that more restaurants can expand seating options and add to the neighborhood’s popular outdoor dining setup. More sections of streets have also been closed off in Mott Haven, Flatiron, Park Slope, Sunset Park, and other neighborhoods. Pedestrian plazas including Westchester Square in the Bronx, Hillel Plaza in Brooklyn, and Corona Plaza, Diversity Plaza, and the 71st Avenue Plaza in Queens have also been designated for expanded outdoor dining areas.

Restaurants located along these corridors can start setting up for expanded outdoor dining as soon as tonight, according to the mayor’s office. The spaces are open for outdoor dining from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday nights, and 12 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Across the city, 76 streets and nine pedestrian plazas are now shut down for outdoor dining every weekend, and over 9,500 restaurants have applied and been approved for expedited outdoor dining permits this summer. The program has been a help to generate sales, restaurateurs say, although for many it only brings in a fraction of normal revenue. Outdoor dining in the city is currently slated to end on October 31 — although it will be back next summer — and the city has not indicated yet whether restaurants will be allowed to open for indoor dining over the winter.

The full list of blocked-off streets added to the city’s outdoor dining program today:

NYC Mayor’s Office