OPINION: Streetside Dining Is the Future — And Here’s How To Do It Right
The city’s Open Restaurants program has provided a lifeline to shut-in New Yorkers, returned 100,000 of our neighbors to the restaurants and bars that employed them, and opened the eyes of millions of New Yorkers to the concept that our streets can be lively, welcoming and used for more than parking cars. It’s one of the most popular programs adopted by the city during the pandemic, and it has transformed — for the better — how we think about our streetscapes. Almost 15,000 neighborhood restaurants in every borough participate in the program.