Expanded dining permanent

Expanded sidewalk dining at the city’s restaurants, a pandemicera emergency provision that proved popular with businesses and the public, was made permanent April 18 by the Common Council in a unanimous vote.

Under the measure, which took effect immediately, more businesses will be able to serve at sidewalk tables, and those that already offered them may continue to use a larger area of the sidewalk. In parts of the city, including on Madison Avenue near Lark Street, the full sidewalk will be available for tables in front of restaurants, with parking lanes blocked off from vehicles to accommodate pedestrian traffic.

Restaurants must apply for a permit from the city.

For El Loco Mexican Cafe on Madison Avenue, which prior to the pandemic had a rear patio but no tables in front of the restaurant, the expanded capacity allows for an additional 18 seats, said owner Patrick Noonan, who previously was also chairman of the Lark Street Business Improvement District.

“After two years of having it, everyone was pushing for it to be made permanent,” Noonan said. “This helps all of Lark Street to become more of a destination for diners.”

Farther west on Madison Avenue, in Pine Hills near the confluence with Western Avenue, BMT Restaurants gains about 80 sidewalk seats among the company’s four restaurants along the same block — Cafe Madison, Junior’s Bar & Grill, Madison Pour House and The Point Italian Kitchen and Cocktails — according to a representative.

“Restaurants told us this was a lifeline during the pandemic and they wanted it to continue,” said Owusu Anane, who represents the city’s 10th Ward on the Common Council. Last year, Anane revived Madison Pub, a longtime neighborhood watering hole at 869 Madison Ave. that had been closed for about four years.

The pub has a rear patio but won’t offer sidewalk seating, Anane said.

Photo courtesy of Patrick Noonan of El Loco To accommodate expanded dining and sidewalk tables, the city of Albany this week put up barriers along Madison Avenue near Lark Street to allow pedestrian traffic in former parking lanes. The Common Council made permanent extensions to outdoor dining that were allowed during the pandemic and proved popular with the public and businesses.