NYC Restaurants Waited More Than 19 Months for Outdoor Dining Permits, Comptroller Finds

New York City Comptroller Mark Levine released a report Tuesday finding widespread delays in the city's outdoor dining permit programme. Since it launched in March 2024, the Department of Transportation received 4,911 applications; only 1,405 — just 28.6% — had been approved as of June 15, 2026, while 2,115 remained pending, including 58 filed when the programme first opened more than two years earlier.

More than half of the restaurants that did receive permits waited longer than 19 months for approval. Under the seasonal rules in place until this fall, outdoor setups were only allowed from April through November, meaning some applicants missed more than one full dining season. Participation has fallen from nearly 13,000 restaurants during the pandemic to fewer than 2,500 under the permanent programme.

The comptroller's report found that restaurants frequently spent months corresponding with DOT staff over technical drawing requirements for proposed outdoor setups — paperwork that small business owners often struggle to produce. DOT, for its part, attributed delays to City Charter requirements that force restaurants to navigate separate sidewalk and roadway cafe applications, mandatory public reviews, and multiple rounds of newspaper advertising.

DOT says it has since cleared its backlog, rising from an average of 29 approvals per month through January 2026 to more than 228 per month from February onward, peaking at 475 in July. Between June 15 and October 21 alone, the agency submitted another 1,092 applications for registration.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani signed legislation in August 2026 restoring year-round outdoor dining. A November 3 ballot measure would further streamline the process, potentially cutting approval times from eight months to two. The comptroller's office has not taken a position on that proposal but urges DOT to improve its data tracking regardless of the outcome.