Now de Blasio stops outdoor dining: New York City bars and restaurants will be allowed to head out of the biggest snowstorm northeast since Wednesday
- New York City will suspend outdoor dining starting Wednesday at 2 p.m.
- It will be closed as a big Nor Easter is scheduled to touch that day
- The city will announce restaurants that are already closed for indoor dining as corona virus cases increase, when they reopen outdoor dining.
- The New York City Sanitation Department issued a snow warning beginning Wednesday at 2 p.m., predicting eight or more inches of snow
New York City will suspend outdoor dining starting Wednesday afternoon due to a major storm.
On Monday the New York City Sanitation Department issued an ice alert at 2 a.m. Wednesday, when a powerful Norster was predicted to blow the barrel across the East Coast and may drop eight inches or more of snow on the Big Apple.
As a result, restaurants have been ordered to close for outdoor dining at 2pm ‘to protect the safety of the hosts’.
As corona virus cases increase, the city will announce restaurants that are already closed for indoor dining, which will reopen to the roadside seat.
New York City will suspend outdoor dining at 2 p.m., Wednesday, as a major snowstorm approaches the city. Above is a display of outdoor dining at the French Roast restaurant in Manhattan
Indoor dining in New York City has been closed for the first two weeks since Sunday. A view from the top stopped after Tom had lunch inside the restaurant on Monday
A closed-door indoor display of community food and fruit juices on Monday
Restaurants will get another hit as outdoor dining will be suspended on Wednesday due to Nor Easter. A scene of stacking chairs and stools inside Cafe du Soleil on Monday in Manhattan above
Picture the empty interior of Metro Dinner in Manhattan on Monday
The Department of Sanitation has issued guidelines to restaurant owners that diners are not allowed to sit in roadside settings, and restaurants must remove or secure any tables and chairs on roadways on Wednesday. A look inside the plain coriander restaurant on Monday above
‘Based on current forecasts, the city estimates that this snow alert will end on Thursday evening, which will allow restaurants to reopen, but this may change until Friday morning, December 18, based on actual congestion and road conditions,’ the city’s health department said Monday.
“At the moment, the City is not asking restaurants to remove any barriers or structures to roadside dining,” the department added.
The Department of Sanitation has issued guidelines to restaurant owners that diners are not allowed to sit in roadside settings, and restaurants must remove or secure any tables and chairs on the roadside.
Remove all electric heaters and overhead covers.
The National Weather Service in New York will forecast this expected snowfall of 13 inches in New York, 16 inches in the White Plains and 6 inches in Montag.
This map shows an overview of rain and snowfall from Tuesday to Thursday, soaking cities in severe Nor Easter and pouring snow in Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York
The sector is already preparing for the storm with salt trucking vehicles ‘filled and ready to go’ and collection trucks that will be converted into snow plows once two inches of snow falls.
If necessary, the department uses its ‘salt trucks’ to apply liquid salt to roads that freeze quickly.
Stopping outdoor dining due to the weather will have a further impact on already struggling restaurants in New York City.
In order to slow the spread of COVID-19, indoor food was closed at 10pm on Sundays for two weeks, with restaurants only allowed to eat outdoors and go out.
More than 784,000 people in New York State have tested positive for COVID-19 and there are more than 27,800 deaths.
Stopping outdoor dining due to the weather will have a further impact on already struggling restaurants in New York City. In order to slow the spread of COVID-19, indoor food was closed at 10pm on Sundays for two weeks, with restaurants only allowed to eat outdoors and go out. View of the outdoor dining area at Nice Mattin above
Outdoor dining at La Siren in Manhattan over the weekend
Under an ice warning, when more than an inch of snow is present, roadside dining should be closed, which can be a major challenge for New York restaurants during the winter months.
Mayor Bill de Blasio acknowledged that December and January were difficult months for restaurant directors.
‘I now feel for 100,000 or more New Yorkers working in the industry, and many have become accustomed. We need to bring this business back. We need to bring restaurants back, but that will take time, ‘he said.
Outdoor feeding under the guidance of the Department of Sanitation may proceed under a winter operational consultation, resulting in less than an inch of snow accumulation.
But under a snow alert, when there is more than an inch of snow, the roadside dining should be closed.