Outdoor dining working group clears some sidewalk cafes, denies others; enforcement concerns loom

The Manhattan Outdoor Dining Working Group on Sept. 9 reviewed 21 outdoor-dining applications and took a mix of approvals-with-modifications and denials, with the panel front-loading site-plan corrections and safety-related changes.

The committee voted to approve several sidewalk-cafe applications on the condition that applicants correct site plans and show required clearances. For example, the panel approved the application for J J W Lavo LLC, d/b/a La Lavo at 630 Hudson Street, with required changes including relabeling the corridor designation as a regional corridor, marking primary building entrances and showing 5-foot clearances from those entrances, and correcting tree-bed and sidewalk dimensions on the site plan. Vice Chair Stella Fitzgerald opened the meeting as the group began public testimony and review of applications: "This is the 09/09/2024 outdoor dining working group meeting. My name is Stella Fitzgerald. I'm vice chair of the outdoor dining working group," she said.

Other applications were approved with similar conditions to correct technical drawings and to remove obstructions or unauthorized items from the furnishing zone.

In several cases the group denied the application or recorded a denial…