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Q&A
Council member Julie Menin asks about recommendations for the Dining Out NYC program
2:50:54
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96 sec
Council Member Julie Menin asks Kathleen Irwin from the New York State Restaurant Association to discuss their five recommendations for the Dining Out NYC program. Irwin provides a detailed response outlining suggestions to improve the program's accessibility, affordability, and effectiveness.
- Recommendations include year-round roadway cafes, more city assistance with applications, flexibility in siting, tracking usage by neighborhood, and creating Dining Out NYC districts.
- Emphasis on making the program more accessible to businesses and increasing participation in underserved areas.
Julie Menin
2:50:54
Great.
2:50:55
Thank you so much.
2:50:55
I know you mentioned you have recommendations.
2:50:57
Do you wanna discuss what the five recommendations are?
Kathleen Irwin
2:51:00
Yes, please.
2:51:01
They're brief.
2:51:02
The first is year round Roadway Cafes.
2:51:05
We believe that that will make the program more accessible, affordable, and give businesses the ability to invest in beautiful, creative structures that are high quality and include the higher materials and building standards that have been part of the Dining Out NYC program.
2:51:20
An example of that is the water filled barriers that are not the rat burrows that the sand and dirt barriers were in the temporary program.
2:51:29
We would like to see more assistance from the city so that restaurants don't feel the need to hire private expediters to feel confident in their application.
2:51:37
We would like to see more flexibility in siting and the availability of waivers for those that had sidewalk or roadway cafes so located during open restaurants or in the prior sidewalk cafe program with no safety issues.
2:51:50
We would like to track the dining out NYC usage by neighborhood with an eye to increase participation in areas with low participation rates.
2:52:00
And that assistance could include things like targeted technical support, waived application fees, or upfront grants to help mitigate the upfront cost of starting with Dining Out NYC.
2:52:09
Finally, we would love to see the city identifying neighborhoods where Dining Out NYC is going well that would be well suited to increase pedestrianization to create Dining Out NYC districts that combine additional open space with formal encouragement and promotion of Dining Out NYC to be a draw for locals and tourists alike.
2:52:29
Thank you.