The city is opening up six more locations for weekend outdoor dining, City Hall announced on Friday, bringing the citywide total to 81 participating streets.
Most of the new ‘open’ street began closing themselves off to traffic Friday afternoon, according to a statement from City Hall. The new locations come a day after Mayor Bill de Blasio said that he would consider extending the outdoor dining initiative past the city’s previous end date of Oct. 31, after the state indefinitely suspended the return of indoor dining. At the moment, outdoor dining is scheduled to restart on June 1, 2021, but that date could be bumped up.
“We’re continuing to reimagine our urban landscape and give small businesses more chance than ever to recoup their losses from COVID-19,” said de Blasio. “Restaurants and diners alike have loved this program from the beginning, and we’re proud to expand it even further.”
De Blasio claims that the initiative has saved over 80,000 restaurant industry jobs since it launched in June. As of Friday, close to 10,000 restaurants have received a permit to seat and serve patrons outdoors, according to the city’s open restaurant tracker.
The newly opened streets include:
Queens: Ditmars Blvd. to 33rd and 36th Sts. (Organizer: Nino’s AQ Restaurant)
Brooklyn: Intersection of Hoyt St. and Pacific St. to State St. (Organizer: Atlantic Avenue BID)
Manhattan: W. 36th St. to the intersection of 5th Ave. and 6th Ave. (Organizer: Garment District Alliance)
Manhattan: E. 28th St. to Madison and Park Aves. (Organizer: Flatiron 23rd Street Partnership)
Manhattan: E. 29th St. to Madison and 5th Aves. (Organizer: Scarpetta Restaurant)
Manhattan: Frederick Douglass Blvd. to W. 112th and W. 12th Sts. (Organizer: Frederick Douglass Boulevard Alliance)
Hours of operation for most restaurants will be from 5 to 11 p.m. on Fridays and noon to 11 p.m. on Saturday and Sundays.
