Dining Out on Taxpayers in NYC

Restaurant sheds have been a lingering point of Covid controversy in New York City, and this item in the free tabloid papers from Schneps Media ought to be reason for further debate. The sheds were allowed on public streets to save the eateries during the indoor restrictions of the pandemic. Many of them remain in place despite commerce returning to normal even in NYC, this despite complaints from neighbors about vermin, displacement of other uses and frequent unsightliness. Last summer the city council finally rang last call on the sheds, but gave the owners an additional year and the chance to maintain their public spaces with city-approved seasonal designs, which must be applied for soon. That was a big concession, compared with pre-Covid, but apparently not enough for some. Queens Congresswoman Grace Meng says she has secured $2 million in federal funds to subsidize participation of 60 restaurants in her district. So, for these 60 (and others to follow, elsewhere in town?), there will now be public space and public money for their private business. Of course, the food-and-drinks trade is rarely an easy one, and New York politicians with their laws are normally making it more difficult still, but in this case the happy hour is enjoyed by management. Street dining will continue, even if not everyone in town approves, and taxpayers in Des Moines may have their reservations, too.

Queens restaurants to receive federal boost for outdoor dining as city program becomes permanent