Why isn't there more outdoor dining in NYC? City says restaurants aren't applying.

Al-fresco dining plummeted under the city’s new outdoor dining program compared to during the pandemic because restaurants themselves aren’t finishing their applications, city Department of Transportation officials said.

The testimony to the City Council during an oversight hearing on Monday comes after restaurant owners have complained for months that the process to apply for outdoor dining is too tedious and expensive.

Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodgriguez said the agency operates within the laws written by the Council. He agreed in his testimony that the process could be streamlined by eliminating some layers of review, but also said there's a variety of reasons restaurants might not be completing their applications.

Only 400 restaurants fully completed the licensing process to use sidewalks and street space for 2025, under the city’s new Dining Out NYC program, which created a new application process and restricted outdoor dining to April through November.

Under a previous pandemic-era initiative, outdoor cafes could operate year-round, but the city required that restaurants close their outdoor operations in November 2024, then apply to the new program to reopen them this year.

The rest of the nearly 4,000 restaurants that participated in 2025 operated under conditional approvals and would need to finish their applications before the program starts again in the spring of 2026 to continue taking part.

That’s only a fraction of the roughly 12,000 establishments that participated with roadway or sidewalk cafes in the pandemic-era program, which owners credited for boosting their revenue and capacity.

The new version, which is overseen by the city DOT, has been criticized by restaurant owners for what they say is a confusing and convoluted application and permitting process. They also say making roadway cafes seasonal renders them unreasonably expensive due to the costs of building, breaking down and storing them annually.

But during the hearing on Monday, Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez said the new program has been a success, more than doubling the number of outdoor dining permits issued compared to pre-pandemic levels, when around 1,200 restaurants had outdoor dining. He said many restaurant owners are simply opting out, and there are some that have applied but aren’t yet licensed or haven’t made their payments.

“So this is something that is not on the government side,” he said. “I interact a lot with some of the local businesses. I can tell you in most cases, in Inwood, most business owners who decide not to apply was because they felt it didn't make sense. They didn’t have the need to have all the tables and chairs in the sidewalk.”

Rodriguez suggested the application process could be streamlined if the Council eliminated some parts of the review, such as community board approval.

"That's what will cut most of the time," he said.

The Council is considering bills to reform and expand outdoor dining, including opening it to grocers and allowing roadway dining year-round. Sidewalk cafes are already allowed all year.

During public testimony, legislative counsel to the NYC Hospitality Alliance, Max Bookman, who spoke in support of the bills, said the current program’s restrictive rules, including that restaurants pay for the street space for a full year at once, are to blame for the low participation rates.

“ Instead of having a vibrant five-borough program, roadway dining has basically been concentrated to Manhattan below 96th Street, which is really not the goal at all,” he said. “ What landlord in this city requires you to pay 12 months of rent upfront? Restaurants are getting sticker shock by these fees, and that is contributing to, I'd say, some delay, but it's within DOT's power to handle.”

A license for a business that wants both a roadway and sidewalk cafe costs $2,100. Businesses are also required to pay “consent fees” based on how much space they’ll use, as well as put down security deposits, adding thousands of dollars to the cost.

Some speakers, like Betsy Mak, vice chair of Community Board 7 in an area of Queens that includes Downtown Flushing, spoke in opposition to the legislation, which would allow sidewalk cafes to leave eight feet of space for pedestrians — instead of the range of eight to 12 feet currently required, depending on the type of street.

“ In reality, they are nowhere near wide enough to accommodate the heavy foot traffic in the area,” she said.

Carol Puttre with the East Fifth Street Block Association spoke against making the program year-round, citing the noise created by people dining on the street.

" I am sure the [councilmember] who proposed this bill does not live upstairs from a restaurant with outdoor dining. If they did, they would never want to extend throughout the year,” she said. “The noise of loud voices getting louder as fueled by alcohol as the evening progresses. Clinking plates music. Yes, outdoor music is not allowed, but it happens all the time.”

Layla Passman with the Atlantic Avenue Business Improvement District said she supports the reforms. She said the new program dwindled the outdoor dining setups in the area from 19 to three.

" The current system is so expensive and convoluted to launch that most businesses do not bother to participate," she said. “If the city wants to support small businesses, we must streamline the ability for businesses to grow with outdoor dining.”

The current season for roadway dining ends Saturday.

This story has been updated with more information.