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.
Download presentation slides from the roundtable here:
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.
