Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that restaurants and bars will be allowed to use municipal space for outdoor dining for another year.
The executive order was originally issued in June 2020 in response to initial business reopenings after New York’s first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, and was set to expire after a year.
Although indoor capacity is no longer limited in New York state, Cuomo said the extension is necessary to help businesses in the hospitality industry recover from the effects of the past year, problems that many businesses are still facing.
“As we build New York back better than it was before, it’s important that we learn from the past and capitalize on those efforts that helped so many of New York’s small businesses survive amid the global pandemic,” Cuomo said. “By extending the much-needed lifeline that allowed restaurants to use outdoor public spaces for seating during the pandemic, New York is ensuring that these small businesses will be able to continue to use these spaces as they work to rebuild and support the revitalization of the Empire State.”
Businesses must continue to follow all federal, state, and local laws, rules, and guidance and obtain a temporary use permit from the municipality.
“I applaud Gov. Cuomo’s signing of legislation to extend outdoor dining and beverage sales for on-site consumption on sidewalks and adjacent slivers of municipal land for an additional year,” said State Sen. Roxanne Persaud (D-19th). “During the Covid-19 pandemic, dining establishments have struggled to remain open. It has been a pleasure to work with Assembly Member Pat Fahy and colleagues to craft a policy that will assist numerous small businesses in recovering from the economic fallout.”
