
NYC City Council Votes to Restore Year-Round Outdoor Dining Across All Five Boroughs
The New York City Council voted 37 to 5 on August 13 to pass a package of bills that eliminates seasonal restrictions on roadway dining, allowing restaurants to keep curbside setups in place through the winter months for the first time since the pandemic-era program was curtailed in 2023. The legislation heads to Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s desk, and his office has already signaled support. The bill, sponsored by Brooklyn Council Member Lincoln Restler, removes the November 30 through March 31 shutdown window that had forced restaurant owners to dismantle, store, and rebuild their roadway structures every year. That requirement drove a steep collapse in participation. At its pandemic-era peak under the emergency program launched by former Mayor Bill de Blasio, roughly 11,770 restaurants operated outdoor dining setups across the city. Under the seasonal framework codified by former Mayor Eric Adams and former Council Speaker Adrienne Adams in 2023, that number fell to just 1,549 fully issued licenses







































