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Q&A
Council Member Rivera questions DOT on outdoor dining program challenges
2:27:37
·
4 min
Council Member Carlina Rivera engages in a Q&A session with DOT officials, primarily First Deputy Commissioner Margaret Forgione, about various aspects of the outdoor dining program. Rivera addresses concerns about the online marketplace for dining structures, clearance requirements, and the scalability of the program.
- Rivera inquires about the expensive outdoor dining structures available in the online marketplace and suggests working on more sustainable options.
- Questions are raised about vestibules for sidewalk cafes and clearance requirements for pending applications.
- The discussion touches on DOT's capacity to handle a larger number of applications, potentially scaling up to 8,000 operators.
Carlina Rivera
2:27:37
Hi.
2:27:38
Good afternoon.
2:27:40
Thank you for being here.
2:27:42
I wanna thank everyone who testified.
2:27:44
Really appreciate your work and all the small businesses that are here.
2:27:49
So this is the first year of outdoor dining.
2:27:51
I appreciate that you're evaluating the timeline for review, and especially considering our own capacity and also the capacity of the community board.
2:27:59
They're they're very worried about handling the applications and ensuring there's this balance, as you all know, with this with our own local ecosystems.
2:28:08
So let me ask about the online marketplace.
2:28:12
They provide elements for fabrication.
2:28:15
Some of them are very, very expensive, as you might have heard, requiring tens of thousands of dollars in deposits.
2:28:22
Does DOT have any information they can share about usage and feedback you've received on what's available?
Margaret Forgione
2:28:29
Yes.
2:28:30
We have heard anecdotally, council member, that businesses have found the marketplace to be very useful.
2:28:35
We don't require them to tell us if they've used it or not because things are so busy we don't want to put anything else onto them, so I can't really tell you exactly how many have taken in the different aspects of the marketplace.
2:28:47
But my understanding is that we have a variety of levels of materials from high end to more everyday materials.
2:28:58
So in the marketplace, there should be enough for them to choose from to be able to fit their budget.
Carlina Rivera
2:29:03
Right.
2:29:03
Well you can imagine, they want to make an investment.
2:29:05
They want something to last.
2:29:07
So when we're looking at I've seen price tags 35,000, 80 6 thousand for pieces.
2:29:13
Mean, that's that's a lot for a business to take on.
2:29:16
So I know you've received a lot of feedback on that, so we would love to work with you on figuring out how we can make things a little bit more sustainable.
2:29:24
In the wintertime, sidewalk cafes have these awnings they'll enclose that which is called a vestibule.
2:29:30
Is that in line with the program?
2:29:32
Is that something that is included in the program?
Margaret Forgione
2:29:35
It is not.
2:29:35
The vestibule is just a small enclosure that prevents, like, the wind and the cold air from getting in.
2:29:42
No.
2:29:42
That is not part of the program.
Carlina Rivera
2:29:44
Well, we just you know, there are so many things that make the experience that's important to the experience at at these businesses.
2:29:53
So I wanted to ask because a lot of operators are interested in that being considered.
2:29:58
This also has to do with, I guess clearance.
2:30:01
You said 1,700 applications are pending.
2:30:04
Correct?
Margaret Forgione
2:30:05
No.
2:30:06
Well, we have applications at different stages in the process.
2:30:11
Okay.
2:30:12
So we have about 800 that are in discussions with the restaurants to keep to finalize them and move them along.
Carlina Rivera
2:30:20
I know you're you're speaking to some where their applications are are pending, but they are operating, and they've been told that they must comply with the new clearances.
2:30:31
And so it's it's been a little bit difficult to ask that they be in compliance if their plans have technically not been reviewed and approved yet.
2:30:42
So how are you dealing with with that discrepancy?
Margaret Forgione
2:30:44
Right, and we are working with those restaurants.
2:30:47
So the clearances should be very clear to them about what they need to do.
2:30:54
But being they haven't completely gone through the process, we will we will correct them.
2:30:58
We will notify them if we see an issue until such time they've gotten through the whole process.
Carlina Rivera
2:31:04
Okay.
2:31:05
I appreciate the time.
2:31:06
I I don't wanna go over.
2:31:08
I just wanna say that I know the number 8,000 was brought up as during the pandemic how many operators there were.
2:31:18
Do you think that DOT or that the administration can scale up to handle a number that is closer to 8,000 rather than the three to 4,000 that
Margaret Forgione
2:31:28
we're seeing like to see the number continue to grow, and we can handle it.
Michelle Craven
2:31:31
Okay.
Carlina Rivera
2:31:32
I appreciate that because I'm sympathetic to the demands on your agency.
2:31:36
We wanna be fair to residents and businesses, and I know the businesses wanna be celebrated by their neighbors.
2:31:41
And I think year round, I second all the things the chair said, would be really, really instrumental to the program.
2:31:47
Thank you.