Your guide to NYC's public proceedings.
PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Augustine Hope, Representative from West Village Residents Association on Outdoor Dining Program
3:00:49
·
102 sec
Augustine Hope from the West Village Residents Association provided testimony on the outdoor dining program, focusing on the community's perspective and the challenges faced by residents. He emphasized the distinction between sidewalk and roadway seating, highlighting that the majority of problems stem from roadway dining.
- Pointed out that sidewalk seating already provides year-round outdoor dining, while roadway seating causes 90% of the issues (trash, vermin, noise, accessibility problems)
- Suggested a need for a hearing focused on community issues and potential solutions, rather than just the hospitality industry's concerns
- Offered to help restaurants comply with rules, stating that the regulations are not overly complicated
Augustine Hope
3:00:49
Good afternoon.
3:00:50
My name is Augustine Hope.
3:00:52
I'm from the West Village Residence Association, community that has been disproportionately impacted by this program.
3:01:00
I had prepared a long testimony, but most of the committee have left, so let me just address a couple of salient points.
3:01:08
The hospitality industry has driven a truck through an illusion that they have made about this program that that it that the outdoor dining is what is a monolithic program.
3:01:22
It isn't.
3:01:22
It is two separate.
3:01:23
There's this there's the sidewalk seating and the roadway seating.
3:01:27
We have already year round outdoor dining.
3:01:31
It's on the sidewalk.
3:01:34
The place that we have three months of relief each year is on the roadway, which is 90% of the problems that we have.
3:01:43
90% of the problems with the trash, the vermin, the noise, the lack of accessibility, the late hours, noise being broadcasted into our homes.
3:01:52
Let's focus on that one.
3:01:55
Let's look at the problems that that creates and how we can deal with them.
3:02:00
So perhaps we could have a hearing that doesn't focus on all the problems that the hospitality industry is having and we're happy to consult with them on how to comply with the rules.
3:02:10
They're not that complicated.
3:02:11
We'll do it for free.
3:02:12
We won't charge them anything.
3:02:14
Perhaps we could have a hearing at some point where we discuss the issues that the community is having and some of the ways that they could actually be solved.
3:02:23
They're not that complicated.
3:02:25
There's no time here now to discuss them but let's talk about them.
3:02:31
Thank you.