It’s alfresco all year long

Outdoor dining will stay

New York City’s alfresco-dining program that was launched during the coronavirus lockdown will become permanent, Mayor de Blasio announced on Friday.

The decision came as the City Council and the city’s struggling restaurants and bars pressured City Hall to release rules for outdoor dining in the winter, with indoor dining likely to remain limited for the foreseeable future.

“In the midst of this crisis, some really good and powerful things happened. And that was particularly true in the restaurant industry,” Hizzoner said in his weekly appearance on WNYC’s “The Brian Lehrer Show.”

“We will make the Open Restaurants initiative permanent and year-round. I want us to really take this model and make it part of the life of New York City for years and generations to come. This has been, I think, an extraordinarily positive experiment.”

The Open Restaurants program allows bars and restaurants to claim portions of the sidewalk and curb parking outside their establishments to set up tables and chairs for drink and food service.

It was launched as the pandemic forced the monthslong closure of indoor dining.

The New York City Hospitality Alliance, which represents many city eateries and bars, hailed the move.

“Outdoor dining has transformed New York City’s streetscape for the better and has been a critical lifeline for thousands of small businesses and jobs throughout the five boroughs during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Andrew Rigie, the alliance’s executive director.

Under the new rules, eateries and bars will be allowed to set up tents outside to shield patrons from the winter chill. The state’s 25 percent cap on dining capacity will apply if the tents are enclosed.

Additionally, establishments will be able to set up electric heaters on sidewalks and roadways for their patrons. Natural-gas and propanefueled devices will be allowed only on sidewalks.

City Hall said the FDNY would roll out a permit process for propane heaters before the end of the month.

A City Hall spokesman said there may be adjustments to the rules for natural-gas heater installations, which require Buildings Department permission and must be tied into an establishment’s gas service.

Indoor dining is set to return at 25 percent capacity at the end of the month.