Pryor Cashman Partner Richard Frazer, co-chair of the Restaurant, Food + Beverage Group, spoke with Law360 about New York City’s move to make post-pandemic outdoor dining permanent in New York City and the legal basis for granting licenses to restaurants that want to continue serving customers outside.

In “NYC Makes Outdoor Dining Permanent — Except In Winter,” Law360 quotes Rich from a discussion about the pandemic-era Open Restaurants initiative that allowed outdoor dining and why the city’s move to make the initiative permanent is important to restaurant owners:

In March, lawyers said New York City hadn't yet charged restaurants any fees to participate in the emergency Open Restaurants initiative, launched in June 2020, but they warned that the free ride would come to an end when the city finally amended its original sidewalk cafe licensing provisions to establish an outdoor dining program that allows for permanent roadway dining.

Richard Frazer, co-chair of the restaurant, food and beverage group at Pryor Cashman LLP, told Law360 at the time that he represented restaurateurs who "desperately" wanted the law to be passed to make outdoor dining permanent because sidewalk and roadway spaces were good for business.

"The Open Restaurants initiative was a temporary rescue lifeline, and it was intended to be temporary," Frazer said. "It accomplished its goal and rescued restaurants throughout the city."

Historically, he said, the Department of Consumer Affairs issued permits for sidewalk cafes in some parts of the city. But pre-pandemic, New York had only 1,400 licensed sidewalk cafes, and as of March there were 13,000 facilities located on roadways as well as on sidewalks, according to Frazer.

"Depending where you're located, you could double your business without paying a fee during the pandemic," he said.

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