Outdoor dining has been an economic lifeline for New York City restaurants both during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. But commonsense reforms are still needed to help restaurants and small businesses stay open and grow. More than 4,500 restaurants in the City have closed their doors since March 2020; in New York State, the restaurant industry lost over 10,000 jobs from 2024 to 2025.
Today, DoorDash announced its support for a comprehensive package of New York City Council reforms to help the restaurants stay open and grow — including Intro. 0655 introduced by Councilmember Lincoln Restler, which would eliminate unnecessary seasonal limitations that force businesses to dismantle and rebuild costly roadway setups for outdoor dining each year. DoorDash is also backing a broader set of bills to cut the red tape that drives up the costs for owners, workers, and everyday New Yorkers who ultimately pick up the check.
“Outdoor dining is more than a few tables on the curb — it’s an economic lifeline for neighborhood restaurants,” said John Horton, DoorDash Head of North America Public Policy. “Removing seasonal restrictions on year-round outdoor dining and simplifying permitting are commonsense steps that will help more New York restaurants stay open. Every unnecessary permit, every redundant form, every month of delay gets priced into your check. It’s simple: by lowering the cost of doing business, you lower the cost of living in the city.”
An Outdoor Dining Package to Unlock Main Street
Intro. 0655 — Eliminates unnecessary seasonal limitations that force businesses to dismantle and rebuild costly roadway setups for outdoor dining each year, and expands eligibility to include both restaurants and grocery stores to protect local jobs and revenue.
Intro. 0724 — A return to the longstanding 8-foot clear-path standard for sidewalk cafés — a rule that protects pedestrian access while preserving seating, customer capacity, and revenue.
Intro. 0628 — Allowing paper applications and adding a “save your work” feature to the online portal so owners can apply for outdoor dining permits without losing time or money.
Additional improvements: Make community-board approvals faster and let restaurants use adjacent curb space to add seats and create jobs.
How DoorDash Supports NYC Restaurants
DoorDash partners with 20,000 NYC restaurants, which produced more than $1.5B in sales revenue on our platform in 2025. We’ve invested in programs and support to help restaurants winterize outdoor dining and remain resilient.
DoorDash doesn’t just help them deliver. Last November, we launched Reservations in New York City letting diners book tables, discover new experiences and earn credits toward future orders all in one app. We’re building even more ways to restaurants to help reach customers and grow, however they want to do business.
Read DoorDash’s letter of support to the City Council.
