Open Restaurants FAQ

Updated February 5, 2021

Who is eligible to apply to Open Restaurants?

Any food service establishment licensed by the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) which has business frontage on the ground floor.

When can my Establishment begin using outdoor dining?

As soon as Phase Two begins in NYC, outdoor dining will be legal, provided that restaurants follow the guidelines set by NY State and DOHMH. Establishments seeking to utilize additional public sidewalk or roadway space for outdoor dining operations must apply online at nyc.gov/openrestaurants and may commence upon self-certification.

I already have outdoor dining space, do I need to apply?

Types of outdoor dining which do not require NYC DOT approvals (but may require State Liquor Authority approvals) include:

• Restaurants utilizing any privately owned outdoor space, such as front yards, side yards, rear yards or courtyards
• Restaurants utilizing private parking lots
• Restaurants utilizing balconies, terraces, or open air rooftop space
• Restaurants on open air boats

I currently have an enclosed sidewalk cafe permit. Am I permitted to seat guests within the enclosed sidewalk cafГ© next to open windows?

Under NY State Phase Two Restaurant Guidance, only restaurants with “outdoor space» may reopen during Phase Two. “Outdoor space» is defined as an open air space without a fixed roof (besides a temporary or seasonal awning or cover). An enclosed cafe with a permanent roof would not meet the definition.

Under Phase Three, the New York State Department of Health has provided that outdoor service may occur under fixed and temporary roofs so long as the area utilize is open on at least two sides. Additional Phase Three/Four guidelines for licensed on-premises established from State Liquor Authority.

My establishment is in a residential district, special district, or historic district where sidewalk cafes are not typically allowed, can I still apply?

Yes, you can apply. See terms and conditions in the Open Restaurant application for further details.

Can I apply if I’m on an Open Street?

Yes, establishments that are currently on an Open Streets may apply for sidewalk and/or roadway seating. To view all Open Street locations visit nyc.gov/openstreets

Is there a fee to apply to Open Restaurants?

The City does not charge any fees to apply to the program.

Do I need insurance?

Yes, the City recommends you consult your insurance broker to make sure you have the appropriate coverage for the additional seating areas.

What are the daily hours of operation?

Open Restaurant seating may be in use (operation times are subject to change by state order):

• Monday-Saturday: 8am-11pm
• Sunday: 10am-11pm

What is the duration of Open Restaurants?

Roadway seating and sidewalk seating has been extended through 2021, with a permanent program in development.

Can my barriers and furniture remain in the roadway when I’m not in operation?

Yes, except when the curb lane functions part-time as a moving lane, roadway seating area may be closed to vehicles and barriers, and may remain in place 24/7 for the duration of the program. Tables and chairs must be removed or secured in place when not in use. For part-time moving lanes, all barriers and furniture must be removed during the period the curb lane functions as a moving lane.

Is the seating exclusive to my business and can I serve food?

Yes, seating is exclusive for your business and table service is allowed.

Can I serve alcoholic beverages in the outdoor dining area?

Yes, if you are licensed by the State Liquor Authority and submit all appropriate documents.

Can I use the seating area for performances or other types of activity?

No. The program is for outdoor dining only at this time.

Are street vendors allowed to use the curb lane or sidewalk?

Yes, as long as they comply with all applicable vending laws and rules, and all health guidance.

Is Open Restaurant Seating ADA accessible?

Yes, the City requires all Open Restaurant seating to be ADA compliant. Visit MOPD’s Small Business Resources page for guidance.

How does the Alternate Side Parking (“ASP») regulation impact seating in the roadway and what do I do if there are utility covers in the seating area?

ASP spaces are available for Open Restaurant use, provided all other requirements are met. By participating in the program, you are taking responsibility for maintaining the cleanliness of the roadway curb space in front of your business. Curbside drainage and access to and ventilation of utility covers must not be impeded, and at all times, the seating area must be in a clean, neat and safe condition.

Can I use elements besides furniture, barriers, and ramps?

Yes, umbrellas with a weighted base or tents or other shelters, not to exceed 400 SF in total or fully enclose the seating area, which follow manufacturers installation instructions to secure the tents properly and safely are allowed on authorized sidewalk and roadway seating areas but may not extend past the barrier or obstruct access to or ventilation of utility covers. Areas of multiple tents that are combined or are tied to each other cannot exceed 400 SF in total. Umbrellas and tents should not be used during inclement weather such as high wind condition. Sign up for a Weather Advisory Subscription.

Structures or additions of any kind may not be bolted down or drilled into the roadway or sidewalk.

Structures, tents or umbrellas may not block any right of way signs or street regulation signs.

Platforms may not be installed on sidewalks, but may be installed in authorized roadway seating areas behind the required barrier to flush height with curb to facilitate ADA compliance, prevent the curb from becoming a tripping hazard, and allow drainage to underpass seating. Such platforms shall not block rain water drainage getting to the curb or flowing along the curb and shall not obstruct access to or ventilation of utility covers. Refer to NYC DOB’s 2020-017 Bulletin for information about when permits are required for reopening restaurants and bars (issued October 14, 2020)

Can I use the plaza in front of my business?

Restaurants can work with their local BID and NYC DOT to request additional seating in plazas by emailing Plazas@dot.nyc.gov.

Can I apply for roadway seating if there is a bus stop or bike lane in front of my business?

Roadway seating may not be placed in a bus stop, bike lane, taxi stand, Car Share parking space, painted curb extension or expanded sidewalk, designated buffer zone (area with white markings separating a bike or parking lane from a travel lane), or vehicular moving lane.

Roadway seating may be set up in a bus lane as long as all barriers, seating and ramps are removed during the hours No Standing is in effect (more in FAQ 24).

Roadway seating may be set up in a floating parking lane in front of an approved business per the diagram below.

What if something is already installed on the sidewalk and/or curb lane in front of my establishment, such as a bike corral or Citi Bike station?

The City will not remove nor relocate street furniture. If a Citi Bike station is installed in the curb lane, roadway seating may not be set up. Additionally, the establishment cannot remove any City property already installed on the sidewalk and/or curb lane in front of their establishment. Such removal by the establishment may result in a fine.

Can I add lighting to seating areas?

Yes, provided lighting is not blinding to passing traffic and complies with NYC Fire Department Open Flame and other applicable Fire Codes, and Department of Building’s (DOB) Electrical Codes relating to outdoor wiring. Additionally, NYC street light wiring may not be used to connect any external power or lighting source.

How do I know if the curb lane in front of my business is eligible for Open Restaurants?

Here is a list of the different street signs and whether they indicate if your curb lane is eligible for Open Restaurants:

Can I set up tables on both sides of my very wide sidewalk as long as there is an 8-foot pedestrian pathway between?

No, you may only utilize the sidewalk space alongside your storefront and/or the parking lane in the roadbed for seating. Eight feet (8’) is the MINIMUM requirement for a pedestrian pathway. See Siting Criteria image for reference.

My ground floor restaurant has two frontages, as it is on the corner or is an L-shaped store, how do I indicate Total Length (ft)* and Total Width (ft)* of outdoor dining dimensions on the Open Restaurants application?

Add the length of both sides to answer Total Length (ft)*. Your width should be the same on either sides, so to answer Total Width (ft), use that footage.

I am filling out the SLA requirements on the Open Restaurants application. What is the Name of Certificant, and is it different from the Licensee?

Yes, they are different. The certificant is the owner of the business who is on the liquor license and the licensee is the business name.

When will my restaurant be inspected and by whom?

Inspectors will make both proactive and complaint-driven visits. Restaurants may expect visits from the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, NYC Department of Transportation, Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement, among others.

I was told to remove my roadway seating due to non-compliance. I’ve fixed the issue, how can I get approval to proceed?

Within 24 hours of receiving notice of non-compliance, you must send a photograph of the corrected deficiencies to NYC DOT. NYC DOT will assess if the correction is sufficient and confirm reauthorization.

Will I be fined $1,000 without a warning?

It is the applicant’s responsibility to comply with the terms and conditions required by the City of New York’s Open Restaurants program. Failure to comply increases your risk of receiving notice to remedy the deficiencies within 24 hours. If you fail to comply after such notice, the City will actively enforce all laws and rules, including but not limited to those that protect its rights of way and ensure the safety and service provided by the City’s rights of way, and may include a $1,000 fine.

Can I place seating on the sidewalk adjacent to the curb in the ‘amenity zone’?

No, sidewalk seating is only permitted directly adjacent to the building façade provided an 8’ clear path to the curb is maintained. Structures of any kind are not permitted in the amenity zone.

Is smoking allowed in outdoor dining areas?

No. Smoking and electronic cigarette use is not allowed in outdoor dining areas. Vaping and hookah smoking is not allowed.

Are heating elements allowed?

Yes, the City will allow restaurants to incorporate heating elements in outdoor dining setups.

Participants in the Open Restaurants program interested in providing comfort heating for their customers in outdoor dining areas have three options:

• Electric radiant heaters will be allowed in both sidewalk and roadway seating setups. Full electric radiant heater guidance from the Department of Buildings (pdf)
• Natural gas radiant heaters will be allowed on the sidewalk only. Full natural gas radiant heater guidance from the Department of Buildings (pdf). Natural gas radiant heaters must also comply with the Fire Code
• Portable heaters fueled by propane will be allowed on the sidewalk only. Propane heating will be regulated by the Fire Department, with requirements for safe handling, use and storage. Full portable heater fueled by propane guidance from the Fire Department online

May I prepare, cook or warm food in my outdoor dining areas?

No. No cooking, barbeque, nor open flames (i.e. ethanol gel chafing fuel) are allowed in roadway nor sidewalk seating areas.

Under what circumstances will we need to move or remove an outdoor structure in the street, for example to accommodate snow removal or construction?

All roadway and sidewalk seating elements must be removed when a city agency, utility company or other contractor needs to access the space for installation or repair. This includes tents, barriers, tables, chairs, portable heaters, etc.

In addition, some roadway seating elements need to be removed during a snow alert when roadway dining is suspended.

«Открытое окно». Интересные тексты на английском с переводом и аудио

Продолжаем публиковать интересные истории на английском языке с переводом и озвучкой носителем. СКАЧАТЬ ОЗВУЧКУ ТЕКСТА “ОТКРЫТОЕ ОКНО” НОСИТЕЛЕМ МОЖНО ЗДЕСЬ.

Ниже вы можете ознакомиться с английским вариантом перевода этой интересной истории. Также вам будет полезен текст “Сколько стоит чудо?” или тексты в разделе “Тексты для продвинутого уровня” . При копировании текста, перевода или аудио и размещении на сторонник ресурсах ссылка на этот сайт обязательна.

Если вы желаете больше практиковаться на английском, причем, не только онлайн, но и по skype, то стучитесь ко мне в скайп. Я вам помогу.

ОТКРЫТОЕ ОКНО/Саки

— Моя тетушка сейчас сойдет, мистер Наттель, — сказала весьма хладнокровная девушка лет пятнадцати, — а пока вам придется смириться со мной.

Фремтон Наттель попытался сказать что-нибудь правильное, чтобы должным образом польстить племяннице в данный момент, но без того чтобы недолжным образом расстроить тетушку, которая сейчас придет. Про себя он более обычного сомневался, смогут ли эти формальные визиты к целому ряду полных незнакомцев способствовать успокоению нервов, которым он предположительно занимается.

— Я знаю, как это будет, — сказала его сестра, когда он готовился мигрировать в сельское убежище, — ты похоронишь себя там, ты не будешь разговаривать ни с одной живой душой, и от хандры твои нервы станут еще хуже, чем были. Я просто дам тебе рекомендательные письма ко всем, кого я там знаю. Некоторые, насколько мне помнится, весьма милы.

Фремтону хотелось знать, входит ли миссис Сэпплтон, леди, которой он представил одно из рекомендательных писем, в разряд милых.

— Многих ли вокруг вы знаете? — спросила племянница, когда рассудила, что у них достаточно долго продолжалось молчаливое духовное общение.

— Ни души, — ответил Фремтон. — Понимаете, моя сестра несколько лет назад останавливалась здесь у приходского священника, и она дала мне рекомендательные письма к нескольким местным жителям.

Последнее замечание он сделал тоном явного сожаления.

— Значит, вы практически ничего не знаете о моей тетушке, — продолжала хладнокровная молодая леди.

— Только ее имя и адрес, — признался посетитель. Он хотел бы знать, замужем миссис Сэпплтон, или вдова. Нечто неопределенное в комнате казалось намекало на мужское присутствие.

— Ее большая трагедия произошла точно три года назад, — сказал ребенок, — значит, это было после отъезда вашей сестры.

— Трагедия? — спросил Фремтон; в этом покойном сельском месте трагедии казались как-то не к месту.

— Вы, наверное, удивлены, почему в октябрьский день мы держим это окно нараспашку, — сказала племянница, показывая на громадное французское окно, открытое на лужайку.

— Для этого времени года еще совсем тепло, — сказал Фремтон, — разве открытое окно имеет какое-нибудь отношение к трагедии?

— Через это окно три года назад в этот самый день ее муж и два ее младших брата ушли утром на охоту. И никогда не вернулись. Пересекая болото на пути к своему излюбленному месту для снайперской стрельбы, все трое утонули в предательской трясине. Понимаете, стояло страшно сырое лето и место, которое в другие годы было безопасно, вдруг поддалось под ногами без предупреждения. Их тела так и не были найдены. Такая ужасная история. — Здесь голос ребенка потерял ноту хладнокровия и стал по-человечески неуверенным. — Бедная тетушка все думает, что когда-нибудь они вернуться, они и маленький коричневый спаниель, который пропал вместе с ними, и войдут в это окно, как привыкли всегда делать. Вот почему каждый вечер окно держится открытым до полной темноты. Бедная дорогая тетя, она часто рассказывает мне, как они ушли, ее муж с белым дождевиком через руку, и Ронни, самый младший брат, как всегда напевающий «Берти, почему ты скачешь?», — чтобы поддразнить ее, потому что она говорила, что эта песенка действует ей на нервы. Знаете, иногда тихими спокойными вечерами, вроде этого, у меня бывает жуткое ощущение, что все они входят в это окно…

Она прервалась с легким содроганием. Фремтон почувствовал облегчение, когда в комнату ворвалась тетушка с вихрем извинений на запоздалое появление.

— Надеюсь, Вера развлекла вас? — спросила она.

— С ней было очень интересно, — ответил Фремтон.

— Надеюсь, вы не возражаете, что окно открыто, — живо спросила миссис Сэпплтон, — мой муж и братья должны вернуться после стрельбы, а они всегда приходят этой дорогой. Сегодня они пошли пострелять на болота, поэтому устроят маленький кавардак на моих бедных коврах. Вы, мужчины, таковы, не правда?

Она продолжала радостно болтать об охоте, об отсутствии охотничьей птицы и о перспективах зимней охоты на уток. Фремтону все это казалось чистым ужасом. Он делал отчаянные, но лишь частично успешные, попытки повернуть разговор к менее горячим темам; он сознавал, что хозяйка уделяет ему лишь часть своего внимания, а ее глаза постоянно блуждают мимо него в открытое окно и на лужайку в окне. Несчастливое совпадение, что ему пришлось нанести визит именно в день трагической годовщины.

— Врачи пришли к согласию прописать мне полный покой, отсутствие умственного возбуждения, уклонение от резких физических нагрузок любой природы, — объявил Фремтон, который находился в состоянии широко распространенного заблуждения, что абсолютные незнакомцы и случайные знакомые умирают от желания услышать последние новости о лечении и немощах другого, их причинах и протекании. — По поводу диеты врачи не столь согласны, — продолжал он.

— Вот как? — сказала миссис Сэпплтон голосом, лишь в последний момент подавив зевок. Потов он вдруг просияла напряженным вниманием — но не к тому, что говорил Фремтон.

— Вот они, наконец! — воскликнула она. — Как раз к чаю, и не кажется, что они по уши в грязи!

Фремтон слегка вздрогнул и повернулся к племяннице, намереваясь выразить взглядом сочувственное понимание. Однако, ребенок смотрел в открытое окно с изумлением и ужасом в глазах. В холодном потрясении безымянного страха Фремтон повернулся на своем стуле и посмотрел в том же направлении.

В сгущающемся сумраке через лужайку к окну шли три фигуры, все несли под мышками ружья, один из них был дополнительно обременен белым плащом, висящем на плече. Близко к их ногам жался уставший коричневый спаниель. Они бесшумно приблизились к дому, а потом хриплый молодой голос запел из темноты: «Берти, почему ты скачешь?»

Фремтон дико схватил свой стек и шляпу; дверь в холл, дорожка из гравия и входные ворота были смутно отмеченными этапами его панического отступления. Велосипедисту, едущему по дороге, пришлось врезаться в живую изгородь, чтобы избежать неминуемого столкновения.

— Вот и мы, дорогая, — сказал владелец белого макинтоша, входя в окно, — слегка грязные, но в основном сухие. Кто это выскочил, когда мы вошли?

— Весьма экстраординарный человек, мистер Наттель, — ответила миссис Сэпплтон, — говорил только о своих болезнях и унесся без слова прощания или извинения, когда вы появились. Можно подумать, что он увидел привидение.

— Мне кажется, это из-за спаниеля, — спокойно объяснила племянница, — он говорил мне, что боится собак. Как-то раз на кладбище где-то на берегах Ганга за ним охотилась стая одичавших собак и ему пришлось провести ночь в свежеотрытой могиле, когда эти твари рычали, хрипели и пускали слюну прямо над ним. Достаточно, чтобы расстроились нервы.

Ее коньком была романтика.

THE OPEN WINDOW/Saki

«My aunt will be down presently, Mr. Nuttel,» said a very self-possessed young lady of fifteen; «in the meantime you must try and put up with me.»

Framton Nuttel endeavoured to say the correct something which should duly flatter the niece of the moment without unduly discounting the aunt that was to come. Privately he doubted more than ever whether these formal visits on a succession of total strangers would do much towards helping the nerve cure which he was supposed to be undergoing.

«I know how it will be,» his sister had said when he was preparing to migrate to this rural retreat; «you will bury yourself down there and not speak to a living soul, and your nerves will be worse than ever from moping. I shall just give you letters of introduction to all the people I know there. Some of them, as far as I can remember, were quite nice.»

Framton wondered whether Mrs. Sappleton, the lady to whom he was presenting one of the letters of introduction, came into the nice division.

«Do you know many of the people round here?» asked the niece, when she judged that they had had sufficient silent communion.

«Hardly a soul,» said Framton. «My sister was staying here, at the rectory, you know, some four years ago, and she gave me letters of introduction to some of the people here.»

He made the last statement in a tone of distinct regret.

«Then you know practically nothing about my aunt?» pursued the self-possessed young lady.

«Only her name and address,» admitted the caller. He was wondering whether Mrs. Sappleton was in the married or widowed state. An undefinable something about the room seemed to suggest masculine habitation.

«Her great tragedy happened just three years ago,» said the child; «that would be since your sister’s time.»

«Her tragedy?» asked Framton; somehow in this restful country spot tragedies seemed out of place.

«You may wonder why we keep that window wide open on an October afternoon,» said the niece, indicating a large French window that opened on to a lawn.

«It is quite warm for the time of the year,» said Framton; «but has that window got anything to do with the tragedy?»

«Out through that window, three years ago to a day, her husband and her two young brothers went off for their day’s shooting. They never came back. In crossing the moor to their favourite snipe-shooting ground they were all three engulfed in a treacherous piece of bog. It had been that dreadful wet summer, you know, and places that were safe in other years gave way suddenly without warning. Their bodies were never recovered. That was the dreadful part of it.» Here the child’s voice lost

its self-possessed note and became falteringly human «Poor aunt always thinks that they will come back some day, they and the little brown spaniel that was lost with them, and walk in at that window just as they used to do. That is why the window is kept open every evening till it is quite dusk. Poor dear aunt, she has often told me how they went out, her husband with his white waterproof coat over his arm, and Ronnie, her youngest brother, singing ‘Bertie, why do you bound?’ as he always did to tease

her, because she said it got on her nerves. Do you know, sometimes on still, quiet evenings like this, I almost get a creepy feeling that they will all walk in through that window — »

She broke off with a little shudder. It was a relief to Framton when the aunt bustled into the room with a whirl of apologies for being late in making her appearance.

«I hope Vera has been amusing you?» she said.

«She has been very interesting,» said Framton.

«I hope you don’t mind the open window,» said Mrs. Sappleton briskly; «my husband and brothers will be home directly from shooting, and they always come in this way. They’ve been out for snipe in the marshes to-day, so they’ll make a fine mess over my poor carpets. So like you men-folk, isn’t it?»

She rattled on cheerfully about the shooting and the scarcity of birds, and the prospects for duck in the winter. To Framton it was all purely horrible. He made a desperate but only partially successful effort to turn the talk on to a less ghastly topic; he was conscious that his hostess was giving him only a fragment of her attention, and her eyes were constantly straying past him to the open window and the lawn beyond. It was certainly an unfortunate coincidence that he should have paid his visit on this tragic anniversary.

«The doctors agree in ordering me complete rest, an absence of mental excitement, and avoidance of anything in the nature of violent physical exercise,» announced Framton, who laboured under the tolerably wide-spread delusion that total strangers and chance acquaintances are hungry for the least detail of one’s ailments and infirmities, their cause and cure. «On the matter of

diet they are not so much in agreement,» he continued.

«No?» said Mrs. Sappleton, in a voice which only replaced a yawn at the last moment. Then she suddenly brightened into alert attention — but not to what Framton was saying.

«Here they are at last!» she cried. «Just in time for tea, and don’t they look as if they were muddy up to the eyes!»

Framton shivered slightly and turned towards the niece with a look intended to convey sympathetic comprehension. The child was staring out through the open window with dazed horror in her eyes. In a chill shock of nameless fear Framton swung round in his seat and looked in the same direction.

In the deepening twilight three figures were walking across the lawn towards the window; they all carried guns under their arms, and one of them was additionally burdened with a white coat hung over his shoulders. A tired brown spaniel kept close at their heels. Noiselessly they neared the house, and then a hoarse young voice chanted out of the dusk: «I said, Bertie, why do you bound?»

Framton grabbed wildly at his stick and hat; the hall-door, the gravel-drive, and the front gate were dimly-noted stages in his headlong retreat. A cyclist coming along the road had to run into the hedge to avoid an imminent collision.

«Here we are, my dear,» said the bearer of the white mackintosh, coming in through the window; «fairly muddy, but most of it’s dry. Who was that who bolted out as we came up?»

«A most extraordinary man, a Mr. Nuttel,» said Mrs. Sappleton; «could only talk about his illnesses, and dashed off without a word of good-bye or apology when you arrived. One would think he had seen a ghost.»

«I expect it was the spaniel,» said the niece calmly; «he told me he had a horror of dogs. He was once hunted into a cemetery somewhere on the banks of the Ganges by a pack of pariah dogs, and had to spend the night in a newly dug grave with the creatures snarling and grinning and foaming just above him. Enough to make anyone lose their nerve.»

Romance at short notice was her specialty.

Больше интересного.

Творчество на кухне. Забытые рецепты русской кухни (щи)

История актрисы в ИТК

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“Амнезия”. Интересные тексты на английском с аудио и переводом