New York City will suspend outdoor dining starting Wednesday afternoon due to a major storm that will bring heavy snow across the state.
On Monday New York City’s Department of Sanitation issued a Snow Alert for Wednesday starting at 2pm when a powerful nor'easter is forecast to barrel through the East Coast and could dump eight inches of snow or more on the Big Apple.
'Snow alert' to suspend outdoor dining in NYC starting Wednesday (New York Post)
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Outdoor dining will be suspended in the Big Apple beginning 2 p.m. Wednesday, as the Department of San...
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As a result restaurants are ordered to be closed to outdoor dining starting at 2pm 'to protect the safety of patrons.'
The city will notify restaurants, which are already closed to indoor dining due to surging coronavirus cases, when they can reopen for roadway seating.
'Based on the current forecast, the City estimates that this Snow Alert will be over on Thursday evening, allowing restaurants to reopen, but this may change to the morning of Friday, December 18 based on actual accumulations and roadway conditions,' the city's sanitation department said Monday.
'At this time, the City is not asking that restaurants remove any barriers or structures for roadway dining,' the department added.
The Department of Sanitation issued a guidance to restaurant owners saying diners are not allowed to sit in roadway set ups and restaurants should remove or secure any tables or chairs in roadways.
All electrical heaters and overhead coverings should also be removed
The department is already preparing for the storm with salt spreader vehicles 'filled and ready to go' and collection trucks that will be turned into snow plows once two inches of snow has fallen.
Outdoor dining in New York City will become permanent. A new program offers a lifeline as many of the city’s restaurants and bars fight to survive. https://t.co/Nm5TmwttoD
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If needed the department will use its 'brine trucks' to apply liquid salt to roads that are susceptible to freezing quickly.
The shutdown of outdoor dining due to weather will only further the strain on already struggling restaurants in New York City.
Indoor dining was closed on Sunday at 10pm for two weeks to slow the spread of COVID-19 with restaurants only allowed to operate with outdoor dining and take-out.
In New York state more than 784,000 people have tested positive for COVID-19 and there have been more than 27,800 deaths.
Mayor Bill de Blasio admitted that December and January will be difficult months for restaurant operators.
'I feel for the 100,000 or more New Yorkers working in the industry right now, and so many more are used to. We've got to bring this industry back. We've got to bring back the restaurants, but it's going to take time,' he said.
Under the Department of Sanitation’s guidelines outdoor dining can continue under a Winter Operations Advisory which results when there’s less than an inch of snow accumulation.
But under a Snow Alert, which results when there’s over an inch of snow, roadway dining must close.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
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