By: Hellen Zaboulani
Since the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered indoor seating in restaurants, New York City gave up some 8,550 public parking spots to make way for outdoor dining, city data shows.
As reported by the NY Post, beginning last June, City Hall and the Department of Transportation allowed restaurants to build seating for their customers outside their storefronts. Approximately 11,500 restaurants joined the program, of which about 5,700 chose to set up seating along the curb.
Since then, Mayor de Blasio declared that the allowances for outdoor seating will be year-round and permanent. The obvious question is, what will shoppers and commuters do for parking once the city recovers and is busy once again. While some restaurants say it’s a good tradeoff, and appreciate the extra seating space and outdoor ambiance, others are losing business because there is nowhere for patrons to park. “Without the sheds it was already hard to park, but now? On Friday? Forget it!” software engineer Ricardo Lourenco, 42, said of Astoria’s busy Broadway strip. “I don’t even drive through there anymore,” Lourenco said. “It’s a nightmare!”
Sal Barretta of Alba’s Pizza, who didn’t opt to set up outdoor seating, told the Post that the program is bad for his business. “My customers are telling me they aren’t coming here because they can’t find parking,” said Barretta. “The sheds, I did not do it. Maybe I should have,” he said. “But we don’t need to be on the street. We have 101 seats inside. These sheds, really dangerous. It’s a huge liability. It’s dirty. It’s dangerous. You’re breathing in all the exhaust from the cars.”
On the other hand, many restaurants are grateful to have had access to the sidewalk and parking spots. “Thank god we adjusted. The extended patio. The outdoor seating. Being able to use the street. It strengthened our brand,” said Yanni Stathakis, 48, operations director for Astoria Hospitality Group, which owns TRU Astoria cafe. “People in all five boroughs are now coming to Astoria to eat here at Ditmars. It was good the city did this.”
City Hall defended the program, saying it kept countless restaurants from shutting down during COVID-19. The five boroughs of NYC have a total of roughly 3 million parking spots, said City Hall spokesman Mitch Schwartz. “In the toughest year for small businesses in recent memory, the Open Restaurants program saved an estimated 100,000 jobs,” Schwartz said in a statement. “It claimed less than half of one percent of the city’s parking spots. Bargains like that are hard to find in this town.”
