Yisroel R.

New York City restaurants will now be able to keep roadway outdoor dining setups in place throughout the entire year, after Mayor Zohran Mamdani signed legislation Monday making year-round outdoor dining a permanent part of the city.

The new law ends the seasonal requirement that forced restaurants participating in the Dining Out NYC program to remove roadway dining setups between November 30 and March 31. 

The legislation was sponsored by Councilman Lincoln Restler, who represents Williamsburg and surrounding neighborhoods, as outdoor dining has become a popular destination for many New Yorkers in the district.

Under the new system, restaurants will be allowed to keep roadway dining setups in place through the winter months. The NYC Department of Transportation will develop new rules in the coming months outlining how those setups can be temporarily winterized while still meeting city standards.

Mayor Mamdani said the previous rules placed an unnecessary burden on small businesses by forcing restaurant owners to dismantle and rebuild their outdoor setups each year.

“Outdoor dining transformed our city once before, and now we are making sure it has a permanent place in New York City,” Mamdani said, adding that the change will make it easier for neighborhood restaurants to plan ahead and continue serving customers in every season.

Restler said the previous seasonal restrictions and other regulations had made it more difficult for restaurants to participate in the program, and said the new law will give businesses more flexibility while keeping outdoor dining active across the five boroughs.

The change means roadway dining setups that once had to come down each winter can now remain in place year-round, giving businesses a more permanent outdoor option and making outdoor dining an even more established part of the neighborhood streetscape.

photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office