Councilmember Brewer presents Intro 894 on seasonal sidewalk cafe enclosures

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

I am here to talk about, as you heard from the chair, 894.

It has to do with seasonal enclosures for cafes that are outdoor.

And this did come from the suggestion made by the Hospitality Alliance.

I want to thank them, as I always do, for their incredible support of these kinds of issues.

There's a time frame during the season when it's chilly, as you all know.

And the idea would be because of that frigid and wet weather across our city, especially between October 1st and March 31, during that time period,

Intro 894, if enacted into law, would allow restaurants to install high-quality winter vestibules enclosing their licensed sidewalk cafe area.

These are spaces for which they already pay the city for the year, actually for the whole year.

And so the notion would be to have better access to that space.

There are also businesses that are unclear on what is allowed and what is prohibited.

This legislation aims to provide clear guidance to help businesses and owners plan.

I think we all see, in some cases, businesses have these enclosures, sometimes they don't, and they all differ.

This bill would make it clear.

I do want to thank Andrew Reggie from the New York City Hospitality Alliance for raising this issue.

And for his tireless advocacy for restaurants and bars and cafes and owners and people who are crucial to our city's economy and neighborhood life.

I want to thank Chair Rehu for including this on the agenda and legislative staff, Rachel Cadoro, Sarah Swain, Natalie Meltzer, as well as committee staff, Sierra Townsend, Theo Miller, John Basile, and Kevin Kutowski.

Thank you very much, and we hope that it will pass.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember Brewer.

I will now turn it over to Councilmember Sanchez to speak on Intro 917.