By “Sid E. Walker” P.E.
(This is the fourth in an occasional series on Open Restaurants by “Sid E. Walker.” The most recent article was in May: “The Battle for Village Sidewalks.”)
To paraphrase the smash hit Hamilton, “Who all is in the shed where it happens?” Rats maybe. Certainly not the locals.
Much to the dismay and consternation of a number of community groups from one end of the city to the other, and a good many local and/or shed-adjacent residents… an already back-room deal between the Mayor and City Council to make the Open Restaurants program permanent has undergone a more recent reworking to make it even more, er, palatable to the restaurant and entertainment industry.
Mayor Adams (showing form the Yankees sure could use: front foot planted, back foot pivoting, hips ahead of hands, eyes on contact) taking a swing at an abandoned shed. NYCDOT Commissioner Rodriguez (?) in the on-deck circle.
Photo Credit: NYC (dot) gov, 8/18/22.
In the interim, i.e., until the City Council votes to pass the mayor-vetted — industry-penned and industry-revised — bill, on June 20 Mayor Adams issued Emergency Executive Order 435 to extend the emergency declaration that established the program in the first place, subject to renewal or extension every thirty (30) days. Stay tuned Thursday, July 20.
The irony is enough to induce choking severe enough to require a Heimlich maneuver: in alignment with state and federal declarations months ago, the Mayor is on the one hand declaring the COVID-19 emergency over, and encouraging home and hybrid workers to come back to the office; while on the other hand saying that when it comes to roadway sheds and the Open Restaurants program… the emergency continues. Pardon me while I try to dissolve this logic pretzel with another swig of espresso martini.
Per the Coalition United for Equitable Urban Policy (CUEUP), the proposed bill would be an “anytime-anywhere” proposal which gives bar and restaurant owners “à-la-carte blanche” to not only keep the current sheds, but add even more… regardless of zoning, neighborhood particulars, street width, sidewalk width, etc.
Further, the proposed bill would explicitly preclude any restrictions on the hours of operation of any outdoor sheds.
Ergo, a shed on a sleepy residential Greenwich Village side street would face no more limitations that one in the middle of Times Square.
CUEUP (www.CUEUPNY.com) is doing extensive outreach to coordinate amongst numerous neighborhood groups, and has issued a quite thoughtful 10-point “Community Blueprint for Outdoor Dining” and an accompanying 7-page policy paper.
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Per CUEUP:
“New York, NY (May 24, 2023) — The City Council dropped a neighborhood-destroying bombshell last Thursday night. The new and amended Open Restaurants legislation — now called Intro 31B — is even worse than any of us could have expected.
The Council has refused to hold a single hearing on 31B or its predecessor, 31A. They’ve ignored the votes of the majority of Community Boards citywide that voted against the permanent open restaurants rezoning. And they’ve worked overtime to shut you out as they’ve invited industry lobbyists to write the bill.
Intro 31B promises 14 hours a day of amplified music and crowd noise, streets cluttered and congested with roadway setups, and the same rats, trash, noise, filth and congestion that this program has served up for three years. But now it will be permanent, outdoor dining, anywhere and everywhere, operating 7 days per week from 10 AM to midnight, even in residential neighborhoods.
If you agree that outdoor dining must balance the needs of residents and businesses, it is urgent that you write and phone your City Council Member now.
Tell them to Vote NO on 31B and demand legislation that protects residential neighborhoods, sidewalk clear paths, and the public right of way. Tell them to read the Community Blueprint for Outdoor Dining and support its neighborhood-friendly provisions.”
The Mayor and City Council were seemingly more swayed by a big bucks lobby than by thoughtful neighborhood-sensitive policy makers and planners — many of whom I’m sure enjoy patronizing New York’s amazing restaurants themselves.”
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The proposed revised bill, “Intro 31B,” would keep enforcement under the purview of NYCDOT, and with no additional funding to cover this additional responsibility. There is only one reason for this: the backers don’t want any enforcement, as per current laxity. Self-certification with no consequences for scoffers. Enforcement should be transferred to NYPD. Same as parking enforcement for violations of any of the ninety-nine or so DOT regulations. With tickets issued just as routinely. NYCDOT simply isn’t budgeted and staffed for the task at hand. And that’s just fine and dandy with an industry that has empirically not policed their own.
What next? The City Council is due to vote on the bait-and-switched bill within the next few weeks. But as before, the timing is unclear.
So please contact your City Council member: This gruel needs to be sent back to the kitchen, and the lobbyist / chefs (coal-burning thin crust pizza oven-style) FIRED.
If this city is to have a permanent Open Restaurants program, public feedback must be baked in, not frozen out.
Editor’s Note: An owner of one of the restaurants pictured in the May article posted an on-line comment that no author had reached out to him. True. We sent said owner an email offering to meet. No reply as yet. Please feel free to contact Sid E. Walker (Michael M.) directly: witzeroo@yahoo.com. Note: No apparent change to the sidewalk layout in the May photo.
Sid E. Walker is the pen name (no, really?) of a long-time local Village resident, parent, and professional civil engineer who has been active in local community issues for the past 15 years, who helped unsnarl the LGA roadway system, and who would like to see a better-informed discussion of local traffic and transportation issues. His family have been Villagers for three generations.
