The New York Post published an article on Thursday identifying a trend of hot NYC restaurants taking down their outdoor dining structures. They identified a few restaurants around the city that have removed their sheds, such as Locanda Verde, Keen’s Steakhouse, and Buddakan, but they noted that, among others, Tamarind Tribeca’s “truly charming, creative treasure” still stands and deserved to survive.
Coincidentally, I was walking by Tamarind today and I noticed that one of their outdoor dining sheds is being taken down, so Steve Cuozzo might be out of luck on that one. (By the way, Steve, I also hope that Don Angie’s structure survives!)
I mentioned in an article last week that the scaffolding around 99 Hudson had been taken down, revealing the full extent of how grimy the dining structures at Tamarind had become after a couple years of steady use (including from me). I had hoped that they would either be removed or revitalized, so maybe somebody from Tamarind is an AlgoNYC reader, but I couldn’t find anybody to confirm that they’re all being removed, so Steve still might have a sliver of hope.
Nevertheless, the Post is spot on in identifying the beginning of a trend. By my unofficial count, in Tribeca north of Duane Street, Locanda Verde, Jungsik, Wolfgang’s, Paisley, L’Angolo (now closed), Greca, and possibly now Tamarind have all removed their outdoor dining structures.
Still standing are One White Street, Mr. Chow, Sushi Azabu, Estancia 460, The Odeon, Bubby’s, Frenchette, Tribeca Grill, Chanson, Sarabeths, Scalini Fedeli, Yves, Terroir, Khe-yo, and I’m sure plenty of others.
Given the popularity of outdoor dining and the forthcoming release of New York City’s Permanent Open Restaurants Program, which will be run by NYC DOT, I have to assume that the restaurants who took their structures down will be applying for new outdoor dining areas in accordance with the permanent regulations sometime in the spring.
According to the DOT’s website, applications for that program open this winter and the program will launch this year, but we won’t be seeing plywood sheds or elaborate structures. The city’s permanent concept is more simple, calling essentially for removable tables and chairs with umbrellas surrounded by planters. This is an attempt to strike a balance between the high demand for outdoor dining when the weather is nice and the genuine concerns about quality of life/public health issues that arise from having real structures on the street (vermin, dirty streets, rundown sheds, poor visibility, etc.). We’ll know more as the weather turns warmer.
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