The Alfresco NYC coalition, in collaboration with designers, advocates, and public realm stakeholders across the City, present recommendations to inform the creation of a permanent Open Restaurants program that supports small businesses, activates vibrant street life, and benefits all New Yorkers.
Alfresco Grants of up to $10,000 support Open Restaurants and Open Streets programs in neighborhoods hard-hit by the pandemic across the City. Selected from over 200 submissions, the 2022 grant winners include small businesses and community groups from every borough supporting efforts to create vibrant street life including outdoor dining and cultural programming while helping to address challenges like public safety, youth employment and food insecurity.
2022 Alfresco Grant Winners
Angela’s Cuisine (440 E 138th St, The Bronx)
Started by Alejandro Espinosa only seven months before the onset of the pandemic, Angela’s is working to become a staple for Mexican Cuisine in The Bronx and has also received support from The Bronx Chamber of Commerce in the form of technical assistance.
Angiolina’s Restaurant (1322A Jerome Avenue, The Bronx)
Also supported by The Bronx Chamber of Commerce, Angiolina’s offers breakfast, lunch, dinner, and catering services.
Assembly for Chinatown (80 Elizabeth St #7M, Manhattan)
Think!Chinatown and A+A+A provided services to support Open Restaurants throughout the pandemic, and want to continue their work to provide repairs and upgrading services to derelict and vandalized structures, demolition and removal services to businesses that no longer need the outdoor space, and beautification mural services to additional businesses.
I AM caribBEING (Little Caribbean, Brooklyn)
At Martense and Nostrand near Lips Cafe, the Little Caribbean Block Fete will feature an array of activities, musicians and educational opportunities. The event will offer a series of Little Caribbean Food + Culture educational walks and give visitors an opportunity to meet business owners and deepen their community knowledge.
Centro Cultural Barco de Papel INC (4003 80th Street, Queens)
The last remaining Spanish-language bookstore in NYC. Their storefront provides outdoor space to host authors and artists for open mics and readings.
Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership (472 Myrtle Ave, Brooklyn)
Support for restaurants by providing microgrants to design and build outdoor dining structures along the corridor, activate public space, and joint marketing to support local businesses.
Pimpollo (32-39 Junction Blvd., Queens)
A Colombian restaurant in Queens, Pimpollo is updating their sidewalk seating services with new benches for seating, and roof protection in case of rain and will put in plants and flowers to improve the ambient atmosphere of the patrons dining experience.
RISE: Rockaway Initiative for Sustainability and Equity (Rockaway, Queens)
Founded by the Rockaway Waterfront Alliance, RISE brings residents together through community-planning efforts to engage and transform the Rockaway community. At Rockaway Freeway and Beach 60th Street, under the El, RISE will establish the Rockaway Market Street to provide a multi-vendor farmers market as part of the Wellness Way Initiative.
Red Hook Initiative (Red Hook, Brooklyn)
Serving residents of Red Hook Houses, Brooklyn’s largest public housing development, RHI provides services, hosts community events, and serves food to the community weekly. At West 9th Street between Henry Street and Hicks Street, RHI will continue to support Open Streets and train residents to install and care for trees and public seating.
Salsa Stories (South Bronx)
Every Friday from August 26th to October 14th at Kelly St in The Bronx, Salsa Stories will provide immersive Salsa programming to the open streets to activate open stages, and attract more people to the neighborhoods’ streets and sidewalks and advocate for accessibility improvements.
Van Duzer Street Civic Association (Staten Island)
Operating an Open Street on Water Street between Wright and Bay Streets on Saturdays in June and September, the Association’s “Stapleton Saturdays” offers family friendly activities. Their work helps pedestrianize a normally busy street to connect local businesses and residents to safer open space.
W. 103 Street Open Streets Community Coalition
With a goal to create public space amenities as an opportunity to engage with and create paid opportunities for youth to be involved on the open street, W. 103 St sees the younger generation as vital to the success of open streets in Manhattan and hopes to invest in them in the same way they invested in the community throughout the pandemic.
Roundtable Series
On December 13, 2021, Alfresco NYC Coalition kicked off a series of roundtable conversations with stakeholders including open street operators, restaurant owners, community advocates, and designers to work through the design challenges and opportunities associated with New York City’s Open Restaurants and Open Streets program. Through these roundtables, the coalition will begin to compile design and policy recommendations to ensure the programs are equitable and successful.
As open streets and open restaurants become permanent in New York City, Alfresco NYC launched the Alfresco Awards to recognize the city’s best outdoor dining spaces and open streets, and celebrate street life across the five boroughs.
The Alfrescos awarded several $500 prizes in three different categories to NYC establishments that innovate in design, safely re-imagine our streets, and build partnerships with their communities.
Read the press release
Winning Open Restaurants
Boogie Down Grind (868 Hunts Point Ave, Bronx): Featuring a “Subway car” design, this South Bronx coffee shop hosts free community events to showcase local artists and represents a big effort in an area with few Open Restaurants.
Blend Astoria (37-17 30th Ave, Queens): This neighborhood Latin American staple creates a fully outdoor experience, with seamless design and color coordination that significantly enhances the vibe at the corner of 30th Avenue and 38th St.
Peaches Kitchen and Bar (393 Lewis Ave, Brooklyn): Black-owned Peaches uses reclaimed plastics made into building block bottles for a stylish and sustainable aesthetic. The next steps include sustainable power sources as well as air exchange.
Kokomo (65 Kent Ave, Brooklyn): Kokomo’s seventh iteration of its outdoor structure nails it -- transporting you to the Caribbean while providing improved wheelchair access, warm lighting, movable banquettes and variety of seating.
Vinum (704 Bay Street, Staten Island): In a borough with scarce Open Restaurants, classy Italian spot Vinum offers an elegant rustic wood exterior aesthetic to match the restaurant, that’s neatly aligned with the curb and the street’s slope.
Empire Diner (210 10th Ave, Manhattan): With an efficient seating arrangement with slim design, the outdoor dining area is accessible and takes up minimal space without feeling crowded.
Casa La Femme (140 Charles St, Manhattan): Distinguished by its maximalist design and decoration, the Egyptian cuisine eatery uses real plants and elements of its indoor dining style to create a relaxing and luxurious outdoor dining experience.
Winning Open Streets
In addition to identifying the top outdoor dining fixtures across the boroughs, the Alfresco Awards acknowledged exceptional Open Streets initiatives. Prizes were awarded to:
34th Avenue in Queens: Strong multigenerational programming, engagement, and organizing have turned the community from 69 to 94 St in Jackson Heights into its own, dynamic linear street park.
Piazza di Belmont in The Bronx: A collaborative effort between local businesses and the Belmont Business Improvement District, Arthur Ave, between 188th St & Crescent Ave, The Bronx, has become home to celebration of local culture and provides support to businesses outside Arthur Avenue as part of the community.
TAMA Sundays in Brooklyn: Putting community first, the Tompkins Avenue Merchants Association (TAMA) coordinates with small businesses and community members to enhance business and foot traffic on the Tompkins Avenue Open Street from Gates Avenue to Halsey Avenue.
Stapleton Saturdays in Staten Island: A wide range of programming and engagement with local businesses and institutions makes Stapleton Saturdays one of the more successful Open Streets initiatives to flourish during the pandemic.
Winning Collaborative Efforts
In addition to identifying the outdoor dining and open streets fixtures across the boroughs, the Alfresco awards acknowledged exceptional partnerships in service of broader open streets initiatives and public space, including
Assembly for Chinatown: A women-led collaboration between Think!Chinatown, A+A+A Studio, and Chaos Built, working with local artists and many volunteers to design, build, and paint beautiful outdoor spaces at no cost to Chinatown businesses in need.
Maiden Korea: A partnership of multiple upper story Korean businesses for shared seating, including activation of a vacant lot by 316 5th Ave.
Honorable Mentions
- Chelsea Market: For designing outdoor dining structures that are flexible and available for anyone to enjoy while supporting multiple small businesses
- Neighborhood Curbside Canvas Project: For connecting artists with businesses to beautify outdoor dining structures and re-energize our streets
- Dine Out NYC: For their retractable Open Street barrier that combines beauty and function to create safe pedestrian spaces
- St. James Joy: For hosting cathartic street dancing and convening the community during a very difficult lockdown
- Kindred: For combining artwork and accessibility to create a beautiful, flexible outdoor space with multiple uses
Alfresco Award Categories
- Sustainability, Innovation & Design
Awards in this category are for creative solutions that improve the outdoor experience and are conscious of the environment. - Community Partnership, Integration, & Promotion of Values
Awards in this category are for exemplary collaborations with neighbors. For example, volunteer groups that donate time and services, efforts that celebrate neighborhood diversity, or great examples of shared spaces. - Safety & Mobility
Awards in this category are for safety-conscious designs able to ensure that street users of all ages and mobility can access and enjoy outdoor culture.
Alfresco Awards Jury
- Justin Davidson, Author
- Blair Duncan, President & Chief Executive Officer, Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone
- Danny Harris, Executive Director, Transportation Alternatives
- Helen Ho, Co-Founder, Biking Public Project
- Samara Karasyk, EVP, Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce and 5 Borough Lead, NYC Small Business Resource Network
- Eman Rimawi, Access-A-Ride Campaign Coordinator and Organizer, NY Lawyers for the Public Interest
- Andrew Rigie, Executive Director, NYC Hospitality Alliance
- Janette Sadik-Khan, Bloomberg Associates, former NYCDOT Commissioner
- Katie Schwab, Managing Director, Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies
- Shabazz Stuart, CEO Oonee, StreetsPAC board member
- Diana Tsui, Editorial Director, The Infatuation
- Jonathan Waxman, Chef
- Claire Weisz, FAIA, Principal-in-Charge, WXY
- Michelle Young, Founder, Untapped New York
Thank you to everyone who nominated restaurants, streets, and collaborations!
NYC Department of Transportation Permits
Open Restaurants Application
For street-level food establishments that want to expand dining onto the sidewalk or at the curb. The program promotes open space, enhances social distancing, and helps restaurants serve patrons.
Questions? Contact us!
Open Streets Application
For community groups, BIDs or groups of three or more businesses on a single block that want to expand dining and community programing by closing their streets to car-traffic.
Questions? Contact us!
Applications are currently being accepted for Open Restaurants and Open Streets on the NYC DOT website! If you are interested in participating, apply through one of the links above. If you have questions, let us know and we will do our best to help.
Our Mission
We are convinced that the Open Streets and Open Restaurants programs can be the beginning of a new approach to city streets. After one year of operation, these temporary programs have shown positive results and brought new life and energy to our city. But as the programs become permanent, we are committed to helping improve design of the dining structures and addressing operational and equity challenges.
We are committed to the following goals:
Equal Access
Expand the program to neighborhoods and businesses lacking the financial and human resources to benefit from the existing Open Streets and Open Restaurant programs. Remove physical and financial barriers for vulnerable groups such as people with a low income, language barriers, and/or an impairment. On-the-street dining and recreation should be accessible and affordable for all New Yorkers.
Streets for People
Reframe streets as socioeconomic infrastructure able to support the prosperity of local businesses and communities. Street’s design should be safe, sustainable, and equitable for both people and the environment.
Healthy Environments
Ensure that streets promote people’s mental and physical wellness through design and programming that prevent traffic fatalities and injuries, the spread of airborne diseases such as COVID-19 and the chronic conditions associated with low physical activity, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, many types of cancer, depression, and anxiety, and dementia (CDC).
Local and City-Wide Connectivity
Reprioritize streets to promote local connectivity, reduce traffic congestion, and rationalize approaches to parking and curb use. Develop a network of Open Streets for walking, cycling and micro-mobility that connects to transit and main destinations.
Sustainable Collaboration
Support the continuation of community partnership that have emerged to assist Open Streets and Open Restaurants. Gather transferable knowledge on best practices and share knowledge citywide. Ensure information is provided in various languages and accessible in all neighborhoods with targeted outreach in underserved areas.
Supporting Open Restaurants
Supporting Open Streets
Alfresco NYC is run collaboratively by Design Trust for Public Space, Region Plan Association, and Tri-State Transportation Campaign. The project is funded by grants from The New York Community Trust and M&T Bank.
