The New York City Council introduced new legislation on Thursday that requires the city to come up with a plan to open up outdoor spaces throughout the five boroughs for restaurants and bars to utilize during the coronavirus pandemic. "New York will not be New York if we do not have restaurants and bars and an enlivened streetscape," speaker Corey Johnson said during a virtual press conference to announce the bill on Thursday.
Johnson explained that the bill will create a temporary, fast and simple permitting process so that these vital establishments "can get back to business." The bill requires the Department of Transportation to identify open spaces around the city—including sidewalks, streets and plazas—where outdoor dining would be appropriate and street users could be protected. The Department Of Health will need to create safety guidelines so establishments can follow proper social distancing and cleaning protocols to make it safe for workers and diners alike.
Restaurants and bars that don't already have sidewalk permits could then submit applications to the city to operate in one of those designated places; they could also operate in privately-owned spaces, such as parking lots, as long as they have permission. The legislation would expire on October 31st of this year, or whenever social distancing requirements are lifted, whichever happens first.
Johnson was joined for the announcement by Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, Melba Wilson, owner of Melba’s Restaurant in Harlem; and others — all of them stressed that even if this plan isn't enacted until the third phase of reopening, as is expected, the city needs to begin planning now so it isn't caught flat-footed when the time comes.
"This is the shot in the arm that we need," said Wilson, who is also president of the NYC Hospitality Alliance. "If restaurants can't reopen, communities can't reopen... this will bring back jobs to our community."
Reynoso said that the city council was introducing this legislation now because Mayor Bill de Blasio has not led the way on these types of forward-thinking conversations: "When it comes to open space and streets in general, I personally don't have confidence the mayor has been an outside-the-box thinker about rethinking street space," he said. "I think it's important for us to initiate this conversation and make sure we impose guidelines he would need to start having convo in serious way."
In April, when the mayor balked at increasing the amount of open streets throughout the city, the city council introduced legislation requiring the city to open 75 miles of streets to the public during the crisis; a few days later, the mayor announced an agreement to open at least 40 miles of streets as we enter the summer, with the goal of opening 100 miles total. So far, the city has indeed met that first goal.
"We hope that this piece of legislation, even the conversation around it, pushes [the administration] a little bit to start to engage in that way...to go farther, quicker, be innovative, try to do everything to be ahead of curve to help restaurants," Johnson added. "We cannot wait until we're already into phase one or two. We should already be having interagency meetings now...well in advance of when this would actually happen, so you can work through the kinks."
With the NYC bar and restaurant industry in financial freefall and the prospect of social distancing restrictions continuing throughout the summer, restaurateurs and bar owners have been pushing hard for the city to find a way to let them reopen, even partially.
Earlier today, Mayor de Blasio was asked about the council's proposed legislation, which he said he hasn't seen yet. He said he was hopeful that they would be able to make something happen with outdoor space for restaurants, but did not offer any timeline for when that might happen. "We'll certainly work with the council to sort out what the right approach is, but I first and foremost want to hear what the bar and restaurant owners say will work for them," he said.
At the press conference, Johnson was asked why he felt that council has had to jostle the administration to get them to take action on issues already being dealt with across the country (Chicago, for example, released a 13 page list of guidelines on this topic just this week): "There's always a conversation around New York's exceptionalism, how we're an exceptional place with exceptional people," he said. "But sometimes this administration uses our exceptionalism against us, and says because we are different and unique, we can't do these things other cities around the United States and world are doing. And we look at it the opposite way—we should tap into the creativity and ingenuity here."
"If Cincinnati can do this, no offense to Cincinnati, then NYC can do it," he added. "If Lithuania can do this, one of the smallest countries in Europe, then NYC can do it."
