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Council Member Restler criticizes outdoor dining program and proposes new legislation
2:22:00
·
39 sec
Council Member Lincoln Restler strongly criticizes the current outdoor dining program, arguing that it has failed to maintain the success of the previous temporary program. He announces his intention to propose new legislation to revamp the program.
- Restler argues that the program prioritizes parking spots over restaurant and bar expansion
- He states that only a small fraction of establishments are currently participating in outdoor dining
- Restler disagrees with DOT's positive assessment, calling the program a failure
- He mentions he is working on legislation to completely revamp outdoor dining
Lincoln Restler
2:22:00
Beside the point of whatever happened in Paris, we know what we've done in New York City.
2:22:03
We know that restaurants and and bars want this in New York City.
2:22:06
We've saw seen how much great a success it is in New York City, and we've seen that this administration and this legislation killed the program.
2:22:12
And we see only a small fraction of the number of restaurants and establishments are actually operating outdoor dining today.
2:22:16
We prioritize parking spots over having space for our bars and restaurants to be able to expand into our communities and make our streets more vibrant and dynamic, expand employment at our small businesses.
2:22:26
This is not working.
2:22:27
So I am working on legislation to totally revamp outdoor dining because I think it's a failure.
2:22:32
I disagree with your assessment.
2:22:33
My assessment is failure, and I think we really need to get to work on how to make this a success.
2:22:39
Thank you.