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CB2 chair reports City Council outdoor-dining oversight hearing; two bills withheld that could change community-board role
Summary
CB2 members summarized testimony at a City Council oversight hearing on outdoor dining and flagged two bills not heard that would transfer the program from DOT to DCWP and remove the revocable-consent requirement, potentially reducing community-board review.
Manhattan Community Board 2’s outdoor dining working-group chair reported on a recent City Council oversight hearing, describing heavy testimony from community-board chairs and the status of several bills that could alter how outdoor dining is governed.
Chair Valerie Dela Rosa told members she attended and later testified, and that several community-board chairs from other districts also provided testimony. She said three bills were heard in that session but two important measures were not scheduled — one proposing a transfer of the outdoor-dining program from the Department of Transportation to the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP), and another proposing to replace the revocable-consent requirement with a simple license for certain sidewalk uses. The chair warned that removing revocable consent could effectively remove community boards from formal review of those applications.
Members expressed frustration that some council members reportedly left the hearing before community-board chairs testified. The chair relayed a testifier’s comment that it was “a shame” council members left and that the community was being left “out to dry.” Board members noted that the proposals, if advanced, would require additional advocacy and monitoring because they would change the procedural relationship between applicants, DOT, and community boards.
The chair also summarized CB2’s local statistics to underline the board’s stake in the issue: in a 1.4-square-mile area CB2 has conducted public hearings for 542 roadway and sidewalk cafes (about 30% of Manhattan’s total and nearly 20% citywide), and the board said those figures justify CB2’s role in protecting mixed-use neighborhood circulation and accessibility.
Board members concluded they would monitor legislative developments and encourage applicants to submit corrected site plans to DOT and the board portal in time for January hearings.
