As many of New York City’s 25,000 restaurants and bars fight to survive, Mayor Bill de Blasio extended a lifeline to them on Friday by making a popular outdoor dining program permanent. The Open Restaurants program has allowed more than 10,300 restaurants citywide to offer outdoor dining by setting up tables on sidewalks, in streets and in other public spaces. The outdoor dining program, introduced in June, had been scheduled to end on Oct. 31. “Open Restaurants was a big, bold experiment in supporting a vital industry and reimagining our public space — and it worked,” Mr. de Blasio said. “As we begin a long-term recovery, we’re proud to extend and expand this effort to keep New York City the most vibrant city in the world.

Source: New York Times September 25, 2020 19:03 UTC