Your guide to NYC's public proceedings.
PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Megan Rickerson, Owner of Someday Bar and Member of the Hospitality Alliance
0:31:35
·
5 min
Megan Rickerson, owner of Someday Bar in Brooklyn, testifies about the challenges and high costs associated with the new permanent outdoor dining program in New York City. She expresses disappointment with the program's complexity and financial burden, especially for small neighborhood establishments.
- Rickerson has spent $36,948.36 so far on the program, with projected costs of $68,948.26 over four years for just 22 outdoor seats.
- She highlights the confusing application process, requiring legal and architectural assistance, and the annual costs of rebuilding structures.
- Rickerson emphasizes the need for a more supportive and affordable program that considers small businesses, not just larger establishments with extensive outdoor seating.
Megan Rickerson
0:31:35
Hello.
0:31:36
My name is Megan Rickerson.
0:31:37
I own Someday Bar in Boreham Hill, Brooklyn.
0:31:40
I also serve on the Hospitality Alliance.
0:31:42
I'm on the Mayor of Small Business Council.
0:31:44
I serve on my bid, and I do a lot.
0:31:47
And I opened my bar right before COVID, my very first business.
0:31:52
I am an expert at the emergency program because I rebuilt my structure so many times.
0:31:56
I have photos sawing, plywood.
0:32:00
I am not a carpenter, but I learned very quickly that I had to, as we say pivot, we had to say pivot a lot, but we made it and I'm here.
0:32:10
And I am now entrenched in advocacy because I've realized how important it is to have connections with all of you in order to survive in a city like this, with so many regulations and so many people walking in through our doors, you know, checking in on us.
0:32:26
I decided to go head first into the program, and I'm not gonna lie, I feel a little duped because it was presented to me in a way supportive, and it was supposed to be easier than what existed before.
0:32:43
And I can tell you that it's not I didn't ever do the first program, but what is presented is not easy, and it's not affordable.
0:32:51
I have a neighborhood bar.
0:32:53
We are not $20 cocktails.
0:32:55
We are not $45 steaks.
0:32:58
We are $19 burgers.
0:32:59
We are six dollars happy hour drinks.
0:33:01
We are $3 hot dogs.
0:33:03
And based on the money that I have put in so far, which I have numbers just to really break it down because it's easy to say something is expensive and not know the numbers behind it.
0:33:15
For my sidewalk, my check to DOT and the comptroller's office was $1,775 for six seats.
0:33:24
For my street, dollars 4,573 for 16 seats.
0:33:29
Alright?
0:33:31
The application was so confusing that I did pay a lawyer.
0:33:35
I had to pay per application.
0:33:38
I also had to pay to have my hatch certified, and I had to pay an architect.
0:33:41
And as it was stated by Ms.
0:33:44
Menon that a lot of people haven't completed their DOT applications because they find that part very difficult, I hired an architect.
0:33:54
And I understand that we're not required to do those things, but if people need to be successful, they are gonna spend the money to be successful if they have it.
0:34:02
Currently, I have spent $36,948.36, which includes my build, every year because I am not going to pay for a removable shipping container while I'm having a contractor build and break down.
0:34:19
We tried to make as many pieces reusable as possible, but every year I will be throwing away lumber and paying for new because that was simply the cheapest option.
0:34:28
But every year it'll cost me anywhere from 8 to $10,000 to rebuild, plus another 500 to 1,000 to pull away what I've built the previous year.
0:34:38
So in the end, it's gonna cost me $68,948.26 for four years, which is over $17,500 a year.
0:34:50
I have to outside in those six months eleven forty nine dollars fifteen cocktails, $5,745 3 hot dogs, nine zero seven burgers, or $2,872 6 happy hour drinks.
0:35:08
And that is between the hours of four that I open at midnight.
0:35:13
And that is if it doesn't rain or, you know, some kind of weather incident because umbrellas simply just do not protect people, and that is within that very short, warm period.
0:35:28
I just wanna you to understand, like, we aren't rolling in money here.
0:35:33
I'm not rolling in money.
0:35:34
I had to forego paying myself a few times to make sure that I could afford outdoor dining.
0:35:40
And I am very entrenched in this community and I'm very entrenched in advocacy.
0:35:44
And if it's hard for me, then I can tell you it is hard for so many people because I know the rules.
0:35:51
I was the first bar that my community board saw.
0:35:54
And I can tell you that they weren't educated in a way that I had hoped that they had been.
0:35:59
They were understanding.
0:36:00
They were gracious.
0:36:01
They listened.
0:36:02
And in the end, it worked out great.
0:36:04
But I was expecting them to know more when I walked in that room.
0:36:08
I shouldn't be the most educated person on the program in that room.
0:36:12
I should be coming in and expecting them to know what's going on.
0:36:16
And then I can add to what I'm planning on providing.
0:36:19
So we're not all millionaires, we're not all rolling in money, we're a neighborhood spot, we want support, and we want support from you, and we want support from DOT.
0:36:30
So I just hope that we can figure out a program that makes sense for people that are small, and not just the people that have forty, fifty seats outside.
0:36:41
Again, I have 21.
0:36:44
So thank you so much for listening, and I appreciate it.