Comptroller: most outdoor dining permits took over 19 months. Ballot Question 1 would change the process

More than half of the restaurants that got an outdoor dining permit under the city's Dining Out NYC program waited more than 19 months for it, Comptroller Mark Levine found in a report released Tuesday, amNY reported. Some restaurants lost whole dining seasons while they waited.

The audit found that of 4,911 applications filed since the program opened in March 2024, 1,405 had become licenses as of June 15. That is about 29%. Another 2,115 were still pending, including 58 filed on the program's first day. The comptroller said DOT doesn't keep the data that would show where applications get stuck. Levine called the process "a maze of approvals."

DOT told amNY it has no backlog of applications awaiting its review. It said pending applications are either in legally required public review or waiting on the applicant. The pace has picked up: DOT sent an average of 29 approved applications a month to the comptroller through January 2026, and more than 228 a month after that.

Why it matters to residents: outdoor seating keeps many small restaurants going, and the same rules decide what goes on your sidewalk and curb. The timing also matters. Question 1 on next Tuesday's ballot would rewrite part of this process, and early voting is underway.

What our records add

The Council passed four outdoor dining bills this summer. All four passed the full Council on Aug. 13 and are now law. The mayor signed the main one on Aug. 31:

• Int. 655, from Lincoln Restler, brought back year-round roadway dining. It passed 37–5, with 6 absent. It had 11 Council sponsors plus the Brooklyn and Manhattan borough presidents.
• Int. 894, from Gale A. Brewer, allows vertical winter coverings for sidewalk cafes. It passed 38–4.
• Int. 918, from Shanel Thomas-Henry, lets cafes pay their fees to the city in quarterly installments. It passed 42–0.
• Int. 917, from Justin E. Sanchez, sets cleaning and sanitation rules. It passed 42–0.

What the sponsor said on the floor. Restler told the Council that the Adams-era changes approved about three years ago "nearly broke" outdoor dining, with a 90% drop in participating restaurants. He blamed the cost of building, taking down and storing roadway structures each season (transcript).

The Council still votes on individual sidewalk cafes, and Question 1 would end that. amNY reported that Question 1 would combine the sidewalk and roadway applications, end mandatory public hearings and some newspaper notice requirements, and remove the Council's power to reject individual sidewalk cafe applications. Community boards and local officials would still get to weigh in. Our records show how that power gets used. On Sept. 24, the full Council voted 46–0 to disapprove a sidewalk cafe application for a restaurant in Corona, Queens, in Thomas-Henry's district. The Land Use Committee had recommended rejecting it the same day (transcript).

The city's Commission on Government Efficiency estimates that the ballot changes could cut approval times from eight months to two. If voters approve them, they take effect March 1, 2027, and do not apply to applications already filed. The comptroller takes no position on Question 1. His office says DOT should set processing-time targets and track each review stage either way.

A related bill is waiting. Int. 883, also from Sanchez, would create an office of sidewalk and roadway cafe sanitation within the Department of Sanitation. It has been in committee since April 30.

For a full rundown of all five charter questions, see our ballot guide.

What's next

Election Day is Nov. 3, and early voting runs through Nov. 1. The comptroller's recommendations go to DOT, which is not required to adopt them. The Council's Transportation Committee oversees the program. No Council hearing on the audit appears on the calendar we track.