NYC Council Transportation Committee Approves Outdoor Dining Legislation on August 13, 2026
NYC Council Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure – Outdoor Dining Bills Vote
The New York City Council's Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, chaired by Councilmember Shaun Abreu, convened on Thursday, August 13, 2026 at 10:00 AM in Hearing Room 1 at 250 Broadway. The committee voted on four proposed local laws and two pre-considered resolutions related to the city's outdoor dining program. All items were considered together for the roll call vote.
Discussion Items
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Proposed Int. No. 655-A – Expanding Access to Roadway Cafes (sponsored by Councilmember Restler): In an opening statement, Councilmember Restler said the seasonal outdoor dining program established in 2023 had failed, causing a steep decline in participation. He cited that during COVID, 8,000 restaurants offered outdoor dining, while today the number is well under 800—a 90% drop. He attributed the decline mainly to the high cost of building, dismantling, and storing dining structures each winter. He stated the bill retains cleanliness provisions like removable furniture and weekly floor cleaning, and reduces operating hours from midnight to 11 PM to address quality-of-life concerns. He argued that the bill would boost the economy, referencing a City Controller study that found every restaurant adding outdoor dining adds one job. He thanked supporters including Open Plans, Transportation Alternatives, and the Hospitality Alliance. (The transcript spells the sponsor's name as 'Russell'/'Russler'; the agenda identifies Councilmember Restler.)
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Proposed Int. No. 918-A – Quarterly Installments for Revocable Consent Compensation (sponsored by Councilmember Thomas-Henry): Councilmember Thomas-Henry explained that the bill would allow sidewalk and roadway cafe operators to pay their annual revocable consent fee in quarterly installments, easing the financial burden on small businesses.
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Proposed Int. No. 894-A – Vertical Winterization Coverings for Sidewalk Cafes (sponsored by Councilmember Brewer) and Proposed Int. No. 917-A – Sanitation and Cleanliness Requirements (sponsored by Councilmember Sanchez): The committee voted on these bills, but no opening statements were captured in the transcript.
Key Outcomes
- All four bills were formally amended by the committee before the votes, as recorded in the minutes. Each approved bill requires agency rulemaking.
- Int. 655-A was approved by roll call vote: 6 in favor (Abreu, Brooks-Powers, Dinowitz, Hanif, J. Sanchez, P.A. Sanchez), 1 against (Wong), 1 abstention (Marte).
- Int. 894-A was approved by a vote of 7 to 1, with Wong voting no.
- Int. 917-A was approved unanimously, 8 to 0.
- Int. 918-A was approved unanimously, 8 to 0.
- The committee also approved two pre-considered resolutions concerning environmental review findings. The minutes list these as Res. 0592-2026 and T2026-2397, both approved 8-0; the agenda identifies them as T2026-2397 (for Int. 655-A) and T2026-2398 (for Int. 894-A). This is a numbering discrepancy between the agenda and minutes.
- Committee members absent or unavailable: Krishnan (absent), Won (medical), Louis (bereavement). Councilmembers Restler and Thomas-Henry also attended, though they are not listed as committee members.
Meeting Transcript
Good morning and welcome to today's New York City Council vote on Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. At this time, during today's votes, no one may approach the dais. Please silence any electronic devices you might have. Chair, you may begin. Good morning and welcome to today's hearing of the New York City Council's Committee on Transportation Infrastructure. I'm Councilmember Sean Abraill, majority than chair of this committee. At today's hearing, the committee will vote on the following legislation related to the city's outdoor dining program. Proposed intro number 655A, sponsored by Councilmember Lincoln Russler in relation to expanding access to roadway cafes. Proposed intro number 894A, sponsored by Councilmember Gail Brewer in relation to vertical winterization coverings for sidewall cafes. Proposed intro number 917A, sponsored by Councilmember Justin Sanchez. In relation to sanitation, sorry, and claim this requirements for roadway and sidewall cafes. And proposed intro number 918A, sponsored by Councilmember Chanel Thomas Henry in relation to paying sidewalk and roadway cafe revocable consent compensation and quarterly installments. Also at today's hearing, the committee will hear and I'm laughing at Justin. Sorry, guys. Also at today's hearing, the committee will hear and vote on two pre-considered resolutions, which respectively set forth the council findings concerning the environmental review conducted for proposed intro number 655A as well as for proposed intro number 894A. Before we get we begin, I would like to thank my staff and the committee staff for their hard work in preparing for today's hearing. Jalisa Quigley, my deputy chief of staff, Theo Miller and Sierra Townsend, Councils to the Committee and Kevin Kotowski and John Bazil, Senior Policy Analyst of the Committee. I would also like to thank the staff of the Consumer Work Worker Protection Committee, Sarah Swain and Natalie Meltzer for their efforts on the bills being voted on today. I will now pass it on to Councilmember Russell to provide an opening on his bill. Thank you so much, Chair Brayou. I really appreciate it. You know, it was about three years ago that the Adams administration and and this council uh updated the outdoor dining program. And unfortunately, uh the legislation that was passed a few years ago uh did not work. Uh we have seen uh a really calamitous decline in the number of restaurants that participate in outdoor dining across the city of New York. During COVID, there were 8,000 restaurants that were offering outdoor dining. Uh today we're well under 800. So 90% of the restaurants that used to offer outdoor dining that used to uh provide a great place for all of us to enjoy an outdoor meal are no longer available. And the number one reason why restaurants say they're not providing outdoor dining anymore is because it is stupidly expensive to build and disc and deconstruct and store these outdoor dining structures during the winter months. So you may be wondering, you know, am I really gonna enjoy a meal in December outside? I mean, tragically with climate change, there are a lot more warm December days than there used to be. Uh, but the real, the most salient benefit of this legislation is that there are going to be thousands of additional restaurants across every one of our neighborhoods that are offering outdoor dining and a great place for us to enjoy a meal outdoors. You know, one thing that the the seasonal program did get right is that it addressed cleanliness issues around outdoor dining structures. Uh last year there were just 11 311 complaints, 11 31 complaints about cleanliness at outdoor dining structures in the city of New York. Uh, by insisting that all of the furniture is readily removable, that the floors are removed once a week and cleaned. We have, I think, effectively addressed rat and garbage issues around our outdoor dining structures. All of those same policies remain in place as we make the program year-round to address very real quality of life issues across our communities. Um, and with the council of of uh um with the uh kind of advice of council members from Lower Manhattan, like Councilmember Marte and Epstein and Wilson, we've reduced the hours to 11 o'clock. Uh currently outdoor dining structures can stay open until midnight, uh, and sidewalk cafes as well. Now they will all close at 11 p.m. Uh, this is great for our economy. Uh last year, with the exception of home health aids, uh, the private workforce in New York City actually shrunk. Uh, but controller lander did a great study that found that every restaurant that adds outdoor dining adds a job. So if we can add thousands of outdoor dining structures across the city, those are thousands of good jobs that New Yorkers can benefit from. Uh, I am thrilled that we are passing this legislation that is great for restaurants, that's great for hospitality workers, but most of all, it's great for all of us to be able to enjoy a meal outside, enjoying the streetscape of New York City. Um Speaker Menon has been a huge champion of this legislation since before she was speaker. Um, back last summer. Uh she was she was um conspiring with me about how we could try to pass and move this legislation. Um I want to thank her and Jonathan from her team in particular for really being steadfast in their support for this bill. Uh the Ledge Division uh did a brilliant job in navigating this. I really want to thank Rachel Cordero and Sarah Swain, who I think just flew back from Egypt just for this.
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