Outdoor Dining Plan Could Be Reheated For Winter, De Blasio Says

NEW YORK CITY — Dining out could come with an actual side of snow in New York City this winter.

Mayor Bill de Blasio on Thursday said the city is open to extending the city’s outdoor dining program past its current Oct. 31 expiration date.

“We're trying to get a sense from the restaurant community, how much interest there is in going longer,” he said.

The potential for hopefully-heated outdoor winter dinners arose after de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo repeatedly 86’d plans to reopen indoor dining in New York City.

Cuomo repeated on Thursday what has become something of a mantra — the risks of spreading the coronavirus are too great to fully reopen the city’s restaurants.

“We're monitoring the situation, recalibrating the situation, it’s governed by the state law as you all very well know,” he said on a conference call. “We’ll make a determination at the appropriate time.”

Restaurateurs in New York City have pleaded for an indoor dining plan as they face struggles paying rent and otherwise staying afloat in the pandemic.

But de Blasio and Cuomo have shown no sign of ending the hiatus.

Cuomo has also spearheaded a crackdown on largely-New York City area eateries and bars that break coronavirus health measures. He said the State Liquor Authority and state police task force conducted 1,000 visits on Wednesday alone, issuing tickets to two establishments — a low daily number for the crackdown that targeted dozens of businesses.

“What we’re finding is compliance is much better than it had been,” Cuomo said. “The establishments are getting the message: ‘follow the law.’”

But some officials worry the crackdown unfairly harms restaurants. A group of 24 state lawmakers recently sent a letter calling for the SLA to “help” rather than hurt restaurants.

Patch reporter Payton Potter contributed to this report.