NYC Eateries Can Now Sell Food On Sidewalk Through City Program

NEW YORK, NY — A program meant to help New York City's stores get through the holidays has been extended into next year, along with a new rule that will let restaurants sell food from their sidewalks.

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced this week that the "Open Storefronts" program — originally slated to expire on New Year's Eve — will now last until Sept. 30 of next year.

The program, which kicked off in late October, allows retailers to sell their wares outside on the sidewalk or, if its an "Open Street," on the roadway.

The extension comes with the announcement that it will now be open to restaurants who wish to sell takeout or pre-packaged food outside, too, de Blasio said.

"We want to allow restaurants and other food stores to get out there and make their products available for takeout right out there on the sidewalk," he said Tuesday. "And we think that's going to help them as they continue to fight to survive in this tough environment."

The Open Storefronts program differs from the city's "Open Restaurants" initiative in that businesses can't set up semi-permanent structures outside and must move their goods indoors at the end of the day. They must also leave eight feet of space on sidewalks for pedestrians.

The extension was welcome news for business leaders that had pushed for the Open Storefronts idea heading into the holidays.

All 76 business improvement districts, under The New York City BID Association, had written a letter to de Blasio asking for the program before it was announced in October.

"It doesn't cost the city anything to offer it so they should continue to provide it as an option to merchants, for sure," Park Slope Fifth Avenue BID Director Mark Caserta told Patch on Tuesday. "It's good news."

Caserta said the program had been helpful for at least one Fifth Avenue business, Annie's Blue Ribbon General store, who used it in particular during the Open Streets set-up on the corridor on Saturdays.

For a list of eligible retail activities, click here. For more information and to participate in Open Storefronts, click here