NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani signs law making outdoor dining year round

Mayor Zohran Mamdani signed legislation Monday to make outdoor dining on New York City streets a year-round extravaganza.

The law reverses a policy enacted by former Mayor Eric Adams, who forced restaurants to fold their tents during the winter.

Mamdani set the table for his hearing on outdoor dining by turning the Blue Room at City Hall into an Italian pizzeria, featuring red-checked table cloths, lights strung from flags, salt and pepper shakers, and even a rose.

All that was missing was a waiter with a white apron around his waist.

James Kwon, the owner of the Village Square Pizza chain, was one of 10 people to praise the decision to undo Adams-era regulations that made restaurants remove outdoor dining setups in the winter.

"This is really big," Kwon said. "We rarely see anything being done to help small businesses and I really feel like this is one of the biggest things that's happened in years."

"The cost to pay to set up your roadway cafe, pay to break it down, pay to store it, only to then pay again to set it back up, just didn't make financial sense," said Andrew Rigie, executive director of the New York City Hospitality Alliance.

Some sound off against year-round NYC outdoor dining

What was not on the menu at City Hall was people who are not so thrilled with outdoor dining.

"I'd like to know, does [Speaker] Julie Menin or anyone on the City Council live upstairs from one of these outdoor dining kiosks? I'm sure they don't," said Carol Putre-Czyz, of the East Fifth Street Block Association. "All of the noise, the traffic, the rats in the evening, homeless people take over the kiosk. There's drug dealing going on there, sex going on in there. It's awful."

There are also traffic concerns about the roadway sheds.

"This used to be like a four-lane road. Now, with the bike lanes and the bus lanes and the outdoor kiosks, you should see the traffic here at the end of the day," Putre-Czyz said.

After the hearing, Mamdani set up an outdoor cafe behind City Hall to sign the bill. The intent in undoing the policy of his predecessor was clear.

"Today's bill signing is reflective of a different policy choice, one that will make New York City feel even more alive than it currently does," Mamdani said.